Base value

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Alabama
BIRMINGHAM NEWS
Base value
Mary Orndorff
01/11/04

WASHINGTON - The team plotting strategy for protecting Alabama's four
major military installations from the next round of base closings is
hunkered down to play tough defense. But their playbook also includes a
stealthy offense.

More so than in past rounds, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure
process is shaping up to be a broad, deep cutting, zero-sum competition
where some bases are shuttered while others expand.

Gov. Bob Riley has declared BRAC the state's most pressing economic
development opportunity - or crisis - depending on the outcome.

The economic stakes for Alabama are huge. The state's four military
bases - Redstone Arsenal at Huntsville, the Anniston Army Depot, Fort
Rucker near Ozark and Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery - directly
provide 56,272 jobs for military and civilian personnel. Estimates of
the economic impact on Alabama range up to almost $38 billion a year
from the bases, related contracts and military retirees.

Alabama not only has to justify the military value of what it already
has, but also to demonstrate an ability to add facilities, programs,
people and jobs, according to those involved in making the state's case.

"I don't think there's an effort to go out and raid other bases ... but
obviously we need to be alert to the possibilities of gaining certain
missions and assets as well as the possibility of losing them," said
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

The Pentagon claims a net saving of $16.7 billion from the four previous
BRAC rounds since 1988. Twenty percent of the Department of Defense's
capacity was eliminated; 97 major bases closed, and dozens more were
rearranged.

"The low-hanging fruit is gone," said Cece Siracuse, a Washington
consultant for the communities that surround three of Alabama's bases.
While no formal goal has been announced, Pentagon officials have said
they expect this round to produce significant cost savings.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1073816411162511.xml

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