No matter when it's done or even how it's done, closing military installations is a process rife with politics.
Postponing the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) process, as the House Armed Services Committee has voted to do, just postpones the pain of closing a military base. Still, most communities where those military installations are based would happily dodge this bullet, even temporarily. We would count Utah's Wasatch Front, home to Hill Air Force Base, among them.
We hope the entire House will see the wisdom of the committee's vote to postpone the process until 2007, which some view as a first step toward ending BRAC.
Meanwhile, the 2005 Defense Authorization bill would fund a number of construction projects at Hill, including $4.9 million for an operations and maintenance facility for the 729th Air Control Squadron; $13 million for a munitions storage facility; $13.1 million for a fitness center; $1.81 million for bomb storage igloos; and $1 million for a munitions maintenance facility.
This represents a sizable investment in Hill, which plays key roles in the nation's military and homeland defense efforts. As Utah's largest employer, its well-being is critical to the state's economy. According to a study conducted by the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Hill provides some 24,000 civilian jobs. The jobs pay an average annual salary of $60,000, more than twice the income of a typical Utahn.
If Utah lost Hill, per-capita income levels would drop by more than $2,600 in Davis County and $542 statewide, according to research projections.
It makes little sense to whittle away military installations while the nation is at war. It is true that the Pentagon needs more money to fund military installations, but decimating other parts of the defense machinery to do that would be foolhardy. Perhaps Congress needs to consider military needs in the context of whether it should undo generous tax cuts.
For now, postponing the BRAC process would appear to be the wise course. If nothing else, as Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, observes, it sends a message to the Pentagon that Congress is paying close attention to the BRAC process to ensure its fairness and that the executive branch does not go overboard in cuts.
Or as some might say, members of Congress in key states are watching it like hawks.