Like high school seniors nervously waiting college acceptance letters, the 50 states were on high alert before the Pentagon announced yesterday which military bases should be closed or downsized, and which should remain open or grow.
Colorado got mostly good news.
Some of our regional neighbors did not fare so well and face sobering transitions should the recommendations be sustained.
Fort Carson would get an influx of new personnel, and Peterson and Schriever air bases in Colorado Springs also will grow. An Associated Press tally calculates a gain of 8,658 jobs for the Springs, solidifying its role as a military and economic hub. Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora also would gain. Work done by the Air Reserve Personnel Center would be sent to Texas, but the Defense Finance and Accounting Service will gain jobs.
Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico and Ellsworth in South Dakota are on the target list, and their communities would be among the five hardest hit in the U.S. Wyoming would lose two reserve centers, but Warren Air Force Base was spared.
Nationwide, the Pentagon proposes pulling 218,570 military and civilian jobs out of some U.S. bases while adding 189,565 to others. Closings would occur over six years starting in 2006, and the plan is supposed to save $48.8 billion over 20 years.
The list now goes to a federal commission, where lobbying will be fierce. Past commissions have agreed with most Pentagon plans but have made some changes. The commission’s final list goes to the president and Congress, both of which can only accept or reject but not change.
Closures in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995 eliminated or realigned 451 installations, including 97 major ones, yielding a net savings of about $18 billion through 2001.
That system is a sound one. Allowing the president and Congress to dicker over every armory and depot carries too much potential for log-rolling, horse-trading, political retaliation and, in the end, stalemate.
We’re not saying that just because Colorado did well in this round. Past closings took down the flag at two of our oldest bases, Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and Lowry Air Force Base. But those closings were blessings in disguise. Fitzsimons has been resurrected as a high-tech health campus that will make major contributions to the region’s medical capabilities and serve as a major 21st century economic driver for the metro area. Lowry has been transformed into a thriving residential community with all the amenities, benefiting both Denver and Aurora.
Other communities in shock over losing their bases should look to Fitzsimons and Lowry as possible blueprints for a promising future.
