Bedford Minuteman
Wednesday, February 18, 2004

Fighting for Hanscom

By Peter Martin

LEXINGTON -- Massachusetts is making its case for Hanscom Air Force Base.

Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Edward Kennedy and other Massachusetts
representatives toured the base Friday with Under Secretary of Defense for
Acquisition Mike Wynn as part of an on-going bi-partisan effort to convince
the Defense Department that the base has unique value to the U.S. military.

Hanscom, located in Bedford, Concord and Lincoln, also has unique value to
Massachusetts, proponents said, providing $3 billion in annual business and
more than 10,000 jobs.

"I've been on the Armed Services Committee for 25 years and know of no
facility that can match it," said Kennedy. "But we don't want to take any
chances, and we're going to take every step necessary to ensure that the
Defense Department understands the unique assets here."

Hanscom, along with 425 bases nationwide, is being evaluated for potential
reduction or elimination in 2005 under the Pentagon's Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) process.

"This is going to be a huge base closure," said U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan,
D-Lowell. "What Secretary Rumsfeld called the mother of all base closures."

Following the base tour the congressmen and governor addressed a large crowd
at Lincoln Laboratory, located just outside the confines of the military
base. Representatives from the academic, technical, and private business
communities showed up in strength to demonstrate their support for the base.
Also in attendance, packing the second and third floors balconies of the
high-ceiling reception room, were Lincoln Laboratory employees who, maybe
more than anyone, have a direct stake in the future of Hanscom.

Lincoln Laboratory, along with many other defense contractors like Raytheon
and MITRE based in the state, rely on Hanscom for much of their business.

Officials in Hanscom towns, as well as lawmakers like Kennedy, are concerned
that the BRAC criteria does not fairly consider the technical research
assets of Hanscom, which includes a synergy with the intellectual resources
of nearby universities like MIT and Harvard.

"I believe that, actually in a lot of ways, calling it Hanscom Air Force
base is no longer appropriate -- it really is Hanscom Laboratories," said
U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Malden.

Hanscom does not fly active combat missions from its runways. Instead it
makes technological and research contributions and serves to improve the
military's "war making ability," officials said. It is this technology that
enables the military to work "smarter, not harder," Markey said.

As the home of the Air Force's Electronic System Center Hanscom produces
equipment and software which serves as the "eyes and ears" of military
commanders.

Other military research bases, most notably in San Diego and New Jersey, are
also marked for evaluation. The Pentagon will study the following
characteristics of each base:

Current and future mission capabilities;

Availability and condition of land, facilities and air space;

Ability to accommodate troop training and operations;

Cost of operations and manpower implications;

Potential for cost savings at closure;

Economic impact on surrounding community;

A community's ability to accommodate a larger troop force;

Environmental impact.

The study's results will be reported to Congress, which will, in turn, make
a recommendation to the president for a final decision.

When Hanscom was last evaluated five years ago Massachusetts politicians had
influence with the sitting president, Bill Clinton. Hanscom may not benefit
from that form of political influence during this new and upcoming round of
base closures.

"The Secretary of Defense has made it clear that he does not want this to be
a political process, but strictly on basis of merit," said Markey. "We're
going to take the secretary on his word and put together the strongest
possible case for Hanscom."

The problem of potential base closure most also be considered against the di
lemmas of potential expansion. Hanscom may be called on to absorb some
installations and research responsibilities squeezed from other bases. The
issue of increased "operations" at the base is often muddled and confused
with the matter of civil air traffic from Massport which shares Air Force
runways, said Meehan.

"We need to demonstrate that we can grow Hanscom [AFB] as well, by as much
as 20 percent," said Meehan. "It's something that could be accomplished
through land acquisition ... Hanscom could do more."

All of the representatives seemed very satisfied with the participation of
Undersecretary Wynne, who served in the Air Force at Hanscom years ago and
is familiar with the facility and area.

"We're very fortunate to have someone of his ability and understanding of
the base serving the Defense Department in this important responsibility,"
Kennedy said.

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