Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Editorial: Air Force Base needs your support

Activists standing up to halt commercial operations at Hanscom Field may want to turn their attention from halting flights to encouraging aviation at the airport.

Military aviation, that is.

The federal government will eventually decide whether Hanscom Air Force Base will continue the status quo or go the way of the Edsel.

Currently the federal government is in the process of determining which military bases around the country should be closed. Hanscom is one of the bases under consideration. Kudos to the MassDevelopment agency for coordinating the state's efforts to insure Hanscom's continued presence.

The reason for the Air Force Base's continued presence? The bottom line, according to Alan MacDonald, vice president of Community & Legislative Affairs, is crucial to the area's economy.

"Hanscom represents $3.2 billion and 26,000 jobs," he said this past week. "The military is the state's ninth largest employer in terms of revenue and number 14 in sheer numbers of employment."

Hanscom employs 9,000 directly. The rest are spread among Lincoln Labs and various contractors.

The government wants to cut those costs by creating facilities that serve all military branches instead of a single entity such as the Air Force. The state's goal is to keep the money and the jobs while possibly expanding research at the base.

Much attention has been given to airport opponents of commercial expansion of Hanscom. With a possible departure of the Air Force Base, many would no longer call the region home.

Concerned citizens, especially those interested in maintaining a vibrant local economy, might want to express their support for the base. Perhaps protest signs should now read "Keep Air Force Base at Hanscom!"

If Hanscom Air Force Base disappears, there will be more than quiet skies overhead that define the region. A quiet economy would follow, and in its wake, many in the Hanscom community (Bedford, Concord, Lexington and
Lincoln) would move away.

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