Concord Journal
Thursday, March 10, 2005

Editorial: We need to plan for future of Hanscom

With the nation's eyes on Hanscom in the upcoming Base Realignment and
Closure process, the fate of the base is becoming more and more uncertain.

What will happen to the base if it closes? What will happen to the
people who live and work there? How about the civilians who depend on the
base for employment?

And what if the base stays open? Will the Romney/Kennedy plan work -
doubling the size of the base and its resources? How will that affect this
area?

Then there are the basic questions of what the base really is. How many
people drive by Hanscom's entrance on Route 2A and assume it's one building
where military personnel are based? Any who answered yes would be surprised
upon entering the base to see it really is like its own little town. There
is a Dunkin Donuts, gas stations and various other locations one might not
expect to find on a military base.

These are exactly the questions we at The Journal - and our three
sister papers who share Hanscom land: Lexington Minuteman, Lincoln Journal
and Bedford Minuteman - hope to answer in our series on the base which
begins today on Page 1.

Our in-depth coverage will take readers behind the scenes at the base
with text as well as visuals every week until the announcement is made in
mid-May on which bases will be slated for closure. We will compare Hanscom
to Devens, Pease and Weymouth -- all of which closed in the last couple of
decades - and how they handled the closures.

We want to let residents know what effects -- good or bad -- any
decision will have on them. So sit back and enjoy the next few weeks of
coverage on an issue that will no doubt affect the entire region.

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