U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard sent a letter in April to Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressing deep concern that plans were afoot to close NORAD at a staggering $12 billion cost to taxpayers.
The letter, dated April 25, reminded Gates the Air Force had considered closing Cheyenne Mountain during the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission process, but the cost – $12 billion – to shutter the highly secure facility built in Cheyenne Mountain during the Cold War was prohibitive.
Awaiting copy of study
In the letter, Allard also asks to review a copy of a classified study by the Defense Department’s Program, Analysis and Evaluation Office. The study analyzes the future use of Cheyenne Mountain and how any change in current operations would affect U.S. security.
“We’re still awaiting a copy and we expect it and we’ll look forward to hearing about it,” said Steve Wymer, spokesman for Allard.
In July, officials at Northern Command, the command responsible for defense of the homeland, announced that personnel who work in the mountain would be relocated to Peterson Air Force Base and the mountain would be placed on “warm standby” status, meaning it could be fully operational within 60 minutes.
Move could mean savings
Adm. Timothy Keating, the commander of NORAD/Northcom who has since been reassigned to Pacific Command, said at the time that the move to Peterson Air Force Base was necessary to improve “unity of effort and command” issues that arose during an exercise. NORAD/Northcom said the move to Peterson would cost $42 million, but would save taxpayers $150 million to $200 million a year.
Allard said in his letter that despite assurances from Keating that the mountain would remain on “warm standby,” he heard there were internal discussions at Northern Command to close the facility.
“Sen. Allard heard some rumblings from different folks and he wanted to know why in the heck he was hearing those rumblings if BRAC had said not to close that,” Wymer said. “As soon as he sent that letter, he met with the general of Stratcom and Northcom both, and they said, hey we talk about this stuff all the time. We understand that it is on “warm standby” that it is not going to be shut down and there’s no change there.”
Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
