Lowell Sun
Thursday, February 12, 2004

New base-closure criteria said to give Hanscom disadvantage

By Ian Bishop, Sun Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON -- The fate of Hanscom Air Force Base will be governed by eight
broad criteria, a near carbon copy of preliminary guidelines Massachusetts
lawmakers say bodes poorly for the region's last remaining active military
installation.

Congress now must vote to accept the criteria submitted last night or send
the Pentagon back to the drawing board. Lawmakers are prevented from
tinkering with specific criteria.

The criteria will guide the 2005 round of military base closures, expected
to affect one quarter of all stateside military installations.

In a lengthy analysis stretching 19 pages, the Pentagon noted the importance
of research and development installations such as Hanscom, yet it did not
distinguish such facilities from larger training bases in the criteria
submitted to Congress. Hanscom's "military value" will be weighed against
all other bases on the merits of infrastructure, costs and future
operational readiness, Pentagon officials wrote.

Massachusetts lawmakers had lobbied Pentagon officials heavily both through
letters and face-to-face meetings in the past month urging a subset of
criteria that pertained specifically to bases like Hanscom be included.

Hanscom is hurt by its lack of runway length and limited potential for
growth, while its biggest attribute is access to world-class academic
institutions and defense contractors, lawmakers say.

"The (Defense Department's) analysis showed that they read our comments and
acknowledge that the military value of a technical facility has to be
assessed in a different way than a base that hosts aircraft, ships, or
tanks," said Rep. Marty Meehan, a Lowell Democrat. "I have to say that I was
disappointed, though, to see that the final criteria have not been changed
to reflect the factors unique to technical facilities like Hanscom."

The eight criteria are broken into two categories "military value" and
"other considerations." They are:

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.

"Research, development, engineering, procurement and other technical
capabilities are elements of military value captured within criteria one
through four," the Pentagon analysis states. "The Department will consider
military value in a way that incorporates these elements."

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last week said: "There are no questions
that there are going to be different requirements depending on the
activity."

Bay State lawmakers unsuccessfully pushed Rumsfeld to make public those
different requirements he spoke of. Lawmakers argued the public would have
greater confidence if the process was completely transparent.

Ray DuBois, Defense Department undersecretary in charge of installations,
told state officials and members of their lobbying team last week that
Pentagon evaluators will have expertise in the installations they are
judging, potentially better positioning Hanscom to survive the upcoming
round of base closures than in previous years.

The Pentagon's release of the criteria occurred late yesterday, catching
many lawmakers off guard. Several, including Rep. John Tierney, a Salem
Democrat whose district includes Hanscom, could not be reached for comment.

Massachusetts and New Hampshire lawmakers, saying the base drove the
regional economy, mustered all of their political might in an effort to
shape the criteria to favor Hanscom's strength. Base activity pumps $3
billion annually into the state economy and supports more than 10,000 jobs.

In the four previous rounds, 97 major bases were closed or realigned,
leaving about 425 major bases to face scrutiny this year. Pentagon officials
have stressed that although there is no list of targeted bases, every one
will be considered. The previous rounds saved about $6 billion a year.

Bay State lawmakers have held aloft the technical advantages U.S. troops
enjoyed during the combat phase of the war in Iraq as proof of Hanscom's
military value. Radar and command-control technologies deployed in Iraq were
developed at Hanscom.

"Our military should work smarter not harder," said Rep. Edward Markey, a
Malden Democrat, said following a meeting with Pentagon brass last week.

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