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Date Published: March 15, 2005
Officials travel to D.C. to defend bases against closure
By LESLIE CANTU
Item Staff Writer
lesliec@theitem.com
Mayor Pro Tem the Rev. William Randolph flew to
Washington, D.C., on Monday along with Gov. Mark Sanford and other
local representatives for a one-day promotional blitz of Armed
Services and Pentagon personnel.
The trip was another step
toward convincing Department of Defense officials that Shaw Air
Force Base and other South Carolina military installations shouldn't
end up on the Base Realignment and Closure list in May.
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RANDOLPH |
| "We were very well received,"
Randolph said.
Sumter officials are cautiously optimistic
about this BRAC round and believe Shaw has a good chance of not
ending up on the list of bases to be closed.
Ret. Maj. Gen.
Thomas Olsen, executive director of the Sumter Base Defense
Committee, forecasts that Shaw will actually grow as a result of
this BRAC round by taking on squadrons from closed bases.
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OLSEN |
| Shaw is an integral part of
Sumter's economy, with officials estimating the base has an annual
economic impact of $800 million to $1 billion.
In addition
to Randolph and Sanford, mayors and representatives of Beaufort,
Charleston, North Charleston and Columbia and Republican legislators
from Columbia and Beaufort were invited to go to
Washington.
"This is part of an ongoing conversation that's
taken place over the last couple of years," said Will Folks, a
Sanford spokesman.
Folks said the meetings went well,
although South Carolinians cannot be lulled into a false sense of
security.
Pentagon officials have said this BRAC will be
bigger than the last three combined, Folks said, but the governor
wants to emphasize South Carolina's land and air capacity and access
to ranges.
"We've got room to add missions here in South
Carolina," Folks said.
The scope of this BRAC is also larger,
because Defense officials will be considering every Department of
Defense facility, not just bases, Olsen said.
It's hard to
tell from this end whether the visits or the petition drive
occurring in Columbia will make a difference, but Folks said, "you
make your points as clearly and intelligently as you can" and
continue to do so as the process moves forward.
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March 15, 2005 
