Hanscom takes hit in fight to stay open

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Massachusetts
LOWELL SUN
Hanscom takes hit in fight to stay open
By Ian Bishop and Jason Lefferts
Article Last Updated: Tuesday, December 23, 2003 - 11:31:17 AM EST

BEDFORD State officials hoping to keep Hanscom Air Force Base open are
crying foul over the criteria released yesterday by the Department of
Defense to justify the upcoming round of base closures in 2005.

The criteria, creating a blueprint for Defense Department personnel to
evaluate which military bases stay open, are viewed by local officials
as a near carbon copy from the 1995 process, which nearly closed
Hanscom. That year, the base was pulled back from the proposed scrap
heap at the 11th hour in a move many credit to intense lobbying by the
state's congressional delegation.

"All throughout this process, since (Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld)
kicked this off, he and all the deputies had talked about this being a
fundamentally different BRAC (base realignment closure) process," said
Alan Macdonald, vice president of legislative and community affairs for
MassDevelopment, the state agency leading the effort to protect Hanscom.

The criteria put a priority on current and future mission capabilities,
available land, the ability to support operations and training, and cost
as main military values. The process will also consider environmental
issues and the impact on local communities if bases were to close.

"These preliminary criteria offer little reassurance that the Pentagon
will adequately weigh the high-tech advantages of military bases like
Hanscom" in the new round of closings, said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, a
Massachusetts Democrat. "Hopefully, the final criteria will be amended
to emphasize these unique advantages. If not, our national security will
be the real loser."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4746~1848762,00.html

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