Redstone could add 2 major Army commands, 1,655 jobs

Friday, May 13, 2005

From staff reports
Huntsville Times

Redstone Arsenal could gain two major Army commands and at least 1,655 jobs in the Pentagon's 2005 round of base realignments and closures, part of the state's net gain of 2,664 jobs.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, said this morning that the Pentagon's list recommends moving the headquarters of the Army Materiel Command and the Space and Missile Defense Command, both now based near Washington, D.C., in northern Virginia, to Redstone Arsenal. Redstone could also gain major functions from the Missile Defense Agency in northern Virginia. The contractors that support those commands could add thousands more jobs, Sessions said, though he didn't know exact figures.

"I just can't stress how pleased we are that the Defense Department has seen fit to affirm Huntsville's leadership by moving these commands to the city," Sessions said. "I think it reflects a belief that the city has the capacity and the economy and culture to sustain these commands and that it means that in the future you would see the Madison County community be a center for top defense issues."

The Army Materiel Command, the parent command of Redstone's Aviation and Missile command, is in charge of operations logistics for the entire 520,000-soldier U.S. Army. It's headed by a four-star general, Gen. Benjamin Griffin.

The Missile Defense Agency commander is headed by four-star Gen. Troy Obering. The second-in-command is Maj. Gen. John Holly, who has worked in Huntsville until recently.

The Space and Missile Defense Command is headed by a three-star general, Lt. Gen. Larry Dodgen, who was commander of AMCOM on Redstone Arsenal from Sept. 10 2001 until December 2003.

Statewide, Fort Rucker and Anniston Army Depot would gain more than 1,000 jobs each, but Maxwell Air Force Base would lose about 1,251 jobs in the realignment. No major Alabama bases are recommended for closure, and Alabama is among the top 10 states in terms of potential BRAC job gains. The recommendations now go to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which will forward a recommendation to the president by Sept. 8.

Eleven small Guard and reserve centers around the state will be closed under the Base Closure and Realignment proposal, but most involve only a small number of jobs.

The Pentagon's list showed the Army air training center at Fort Rucker possibly gaining the most jobs at 1,888, and Anniston Army Depot gaining 1,034. Maxwell would lose 740 military and 511 civilian jobs.

Redstone's potential gain would come mainly from civilian jobs.

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville, and other members of Congress got about an hour's advance notice of how bases in their district fared.

"There's good news today. As expected, Redstone did very well," Cramer said during a 9 a.m. news conference at the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. Cramer applauded U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, Gov. Bob Riley and the rest of the state's congressional delegation, who he said "worked to make sure Redstone was BRAC-proof."

In a statement released this morning, Shelby said he's pleased with how Alabama fared, though he's disappointed the Maxwell Air Force Base would lose jobs.

"I intend to work with the BRAC commission to fully understand the impact of this recommendation," Shelby said.

Gov. Bob Riley released a statement saying he is now preparing to make sure the state protects itself during the rest of the BRAC process.

"This is a process that will go on for several more months, and we've got to be just as aggressive during these next several months to protect our bases as we've been for the last two years when we started preparing for BRAC," Riley said.

In his statements this morning, Cramer recognized the Tennessee Valley BRAC committee, headed by local attorney Joe Ritch and retired Army Lt. Gen. James Link, who lobbied on Redstone's behalf.

The area came together "the way our area is good at coming together," Cramer said. "Once again, that has paid off for us."

Then he cautioned that the game is just beginning.

"While we celebrate today, this is just the beginning of this process. We have to let ourselves think that anything could happen. Other communities will be plotting their strategy.

"Between now and Sept. 8 is the critical time," Cramer said.

Cramer said Redstone prepared itself well for the BRAC, adding new buildings and proving itself vital to the nation's defenses.

Army officials at Redstone Arsenal were to hold a 1 p.m. news conference today to discuss the news and the effect on Redstone, its workers and the Huntsville community.

Today's unveiling of the BRAC recommendations begins a lengthy public comment period for communities with military bases to react to Rumsfeld's plan. The national BRAC committee will hold regional hearings until Sept. 8, when a final plan must be presented to the president with any changes. The president has several weeks to sign or reject the BRAC plan in full; line item changes are not allowed.

Once the president signs off, Congress then has 45 legislative days to accept or reject the BRAC report without changes.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced last week this round probably wouldn't be as large as expected because of new plans to bring American military units home from Europe and Asia. Pentagon planners had pointed out that America's bases had an excess of 25 percent capacity, and there were rumors for months that the Pentagon wanted to close 100 or more military bases in the United States.

The overcapacity figure has now shrunk to less than 12 percent, Rumsfeld said last week.

From 1988 to 1995, the military has closed 97 major bases and more than 200 minor bases and has realigned 145 military units, according to a Pentagon briefing Tuesday. The estimated savings for the previous BRAC rounds is nearly $17 billion through 2001. This round would save $48.8 billion over 20 years, Rumsfeld said.

Redstone Arsenal gained 1,600 jobs in the last BRAC in 1995, which merged the Aviation and Troop Command in St. Louis with the Missile Command, creating the Aviation and Missile Command now based at Redstone.

Congress has funneled more than $200 million in construction to improve the base over the past five years with a modern, three-phase office complex for the Space and Missile Defense Command as well as other missile work conducted here.

Also, Army planners want to spend about $150 million to improve the munitions school and another $300 million to improve the airfield and build testing facilities there.