Colorado was not only spared major cuts but would gain nearly 5,000 jobs under the Pentagon’s plans for restructuring its forces announced Friday.
The state scored the fourth-largest gains in the nation, with Fort Carson in Colorado Springs leading the way. The Pentagon is seeking to move the 4th Brigade Combat Team there from Fort Hood, Texas.
That would bring 4,377 positions to the base, the state’s second-largest employer. In addition, the report recommends that the temporary relocation of a brigade from Korea be made permanent.
“Colorado’s gaining because we meet their criteria of a highly mobile, highly efficient force,” said Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard. “We’re very pertinent to the current missions.”
Beyond Carson, Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs would pick up four C-130 transport planes in a shift resulting from the closure of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. That would bring roughly 500 positions.
Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora would pick up 94 positions and three F-16 fighter jets under the Pentagon proposal, which now goes to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
The Air Reserve Personnel Center at the former Lowry Air Force Base would be moved to Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. But much of the loss will be made up by additions to the Denver office of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which is in the same building.
The movement of the 4th Brigade Combat Team to Fort Carson is only part of the good news. This summer, after the Pentagon decides whether to close bases in Europe, where up to 70,000 troops are stationed, Fort Carson could receive an additional 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers.
“It’s certainly a great day, but this isn’t the whole story,” said Jeff Crank, vice president of the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. “There is potential that we might get another brigade from this closure process overseas. Nobody knows that for certain, and that decision hasn’t been made, but that could really almost double the size of Carson if that would happen.”
U.S. Rep. Joel Hefley, who chairs the readiness subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, said Colorado is a logical place to put units being brought back from Europe. “We have one of best, most expensive maneuver bases in the country. We have an awful lot of ground. We have an awful lot of ranges.”
The Pentagon recommended closing 33 military installations and realigning 29 more, a move that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said would save taxpayers nearly $50 billion over the next two decades.
If the recommendations stand, only Maryland, Georgia and Texas would gain more military jobs than Colorado.
Though Coloradans should “rejoice,” Hefley said he didn’t like some of the Pentagon’s other proposals, such as giving up space in ports, and airspace for flight training.
“They’ve done some things I’m concerned about,” Hefley said.
Rep. Mark Udall, an El Dorado Springs Democrat who joined the House Armed Services Committee this year, said he’s concerned about the communities that suffered steep cuts.
“While Colorado was spared from major effects from the Pentagon’s recommendations, many communities throughout the country will be heavily impacted in terms of job and economic loss, and as a nation we must provide assistance to those communities that are affected,” Udall said.
Col. Michael Resty Jr., Fort Carson’s garrison commander – like the city manager on post – said the base has enough room for the brigade from Korea, but housing and headquarters buildings will have to be built or renovated before troops from Fort Hood will move in, likely in 2008 or 2009.
Rocky Scott, chief executive of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corp., estimated conservatively that each soldier will make an average of $30,000 annually, and the economic impact to the city would be $250 million annually.
“It’s significant for Colorado Springs,” said Les Gruen, owner of Urban Strategies, Inc. in Colorado Springs.
“Colorado Springs has not prospered thus far in the 21st century like other communities have. This announcement is the sort of news that will be the positive thrust that might turn things around. This is some of the largest, positive-scale economic news that we’ve had since the high-tech boom.”
The nine-member commission next reviews the Pentagon’s recommendations for closures and reports to the president by Sept. 8.
The president must approve the report and send it to Congress or send it back to the commission by Sept. 23. Once the report goes to Congress, lawmakers have 45 days to reject it, or it becomes final.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Mike Soraghan can be reached at 202-662-8730 or msoraghan@denverpost.com.
