State panel will try to protect bases

Suzanne Struglinski

Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2004 | 9:32 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A new statewide commission will try to protect Nevada's military installations as the Defense Department studies which military bases should be closed next year.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., announced plans Tuesday to form "Nevada's Military Advocacy Commission" to help preserve the bases during the next round of base closures and realignments.

Nevada's Hawthorne Army Depot, Naval Air Station Fallon and Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas and an auxiliary base at Indian Springs will be subject, like all military installations, to review and possible closure next year through the Base Realignment and Closure process.

There is no magic formula that will preserve a base from being closed, Nellis officials said. "Until criteria are codified, we can't say what will be looked at," Nellis spokesman Maj. Vic Hines said.

Gibbons said no Nevada bases are in jeopardy of closing that he can tell, but "It only makes sense that we should unite to promote Nevada's military strength during the BRAC process," Gibbons said in a statement. " I want to make sure that the unique abilities, state of the art technology and critical importance of Nevada's military facilities are well represented."

Gibbons is out of the country on a classified congressional trip but will start working on the commission and inviting individual to serve on it when he gets back next week, spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn spokesman Greg Bortolin said the governor supported the congressman's effort and would most likely address it during a meeting between the two next week.

The committee will include community leaders and veterans and Gibbons also plans on meeting with the installation's commanders to understand the strengths of each facility, according to his office.

However, Hines said, under strict DOD guidelines, base personnel "cannot be on a community group for BRAC-proofing a base."

At most the base could provide publicly available background information on what training or other activities take place at the base. They cannot act as a liaison to the group Gibbons plans to form, Hines said.

Meanwhile, the department sent detailed surveys to all military installations on Tuesday asking them specific questions about the bases and activities that take place there, one step in the BRAC process.

Hines said the base's only role right now is really just to answer those questions and give the department the information it needs.

A primary consideration in the process is "military value," such as the cost of operating the base, its current and future mission and training capabilities, availability of land and airspace. The economic impact on community around the installations and the environmental impact, which would include how a site would need to be cleaned up if closed, will also be considered.

The Defense Department has closed or realigned 451 sites, including 97 major installations, through separate BRAC rounds in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995.

"I am confident that the military installations in Nevada, which include the finest air warfare training facilities in the world, will be recognized as such by the BRAC committee," Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., said in a statement.

"I am personally committed to ensuring that the capabilities of our military bases in Nevada are enhanced for the economy of Southern Nevada, and for the defense of our nation."