(Published July 22‚ 2003)

BEAUFORT MARINE CORPS AIR STATION, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's military bases have room to grow instead of being potential shutdown targets in the Pentagon's 2005 round of closures, Gov. Mark Sanford said Tuesday.

"Frankly, we could add some things to these bases in South Carolina," Sanford said after a tour of this base, home to nine F/A-18 Marine Corps and Navy fighter jet squadrons - about 108 aircraft - and some 12,800 military and civilian residents.

The closeness of high-tech bombing ranges in Georgia and training ranges off shore, for example, are vital to helping pilots here hone their combat skills, Sanford said. Units from the base deployed recently to both Afghanistan and the conflict in Iraq and showed they were well prepared, he said.

"It is very, very important to showcase the unique role each one of these bases plays in the nation's national security," Sanford said.

While good to cite the economic importance the military plays in the local economy, it may be more persuasive to point out that South Carolina's bases suffer few of the constraints impinging on military sites in more congested areas of the country, Sanford and state lawmakers said.

"Every Marine Corps and Navy mission can be practiced here - that is vital to the nation's security," said House Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, who accompanied Sanford on his tour.

Several retired senior military officers who are members of the Gov.'s Military Base Advisory Committee also took part in the briefings.

"We look upon this realignment process as a chance to bring things into Charleston," said Tom Mikolajcik, a retired Air Force general on the panel. Mikolajcik said part of the Pentagon's mandate is not only to close unnecessary bases, but also to "realign" the military, which could result in some bases gaining units.

Panel members said the governor will be visiting other military sites in the coming months as they prepare their arguments against closures.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld must submit his list of recommended closings and realignments by May 16, 2005. The commission is supposed to give its decisions to the president by Sept. 8, 2005.

The General Assembly has appropriated $200,000 in state funds to help protect military installations. The cities of Beaufort, Columbia and Sumter and Charleston County will receive $50,000 each to fund studies and other efforts to protect local bases.