The next round of Base Realignment and Closure is set for 2005 so the military can eliminate excess installations and operate more efficiently. About 25 percent of the country's bases are expected to be impacted.
Some of Beaufort County's residents might think Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Naval Hospital Beaufort are safe since they've already survived past closure rounds, but that's simply not true, Rauch said.
"There's a very real threat," he said. "There's no question about it."
Rauch, along with Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray and Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton, joined members of the area's Military Enhancement Committee for a trip to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to speak with Defense Department officials.
The recent decommissioning of Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 82, The Marauders, one of two Navy F/A-18 Hornet squadrons based at the air station, should be a signal that the area isn't safe, Rauch said.
"We should view that disestablishment with alarm," he said. "It should be an indicator to us that we can lose squadrons ... It's not something to be ignored."
The county's delegation to Washington met with Wanye Army, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, Brig. Gen. Willie Williams, the assistant deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for installations and logistics, and Paul Hubbell, the deputy assistant deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for installations and logistics to discuss the military value of Beaufort County's bases and the community's confidence in those bases.
"I think the trip went very well," said Jim Shufelt, who made the trip as a representative from the Military Enhancement Committee, an offshoot of the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce.
Shufelt, a retired Army brigadier general, represents Beaufort on Gov. Mark Sanford's statewide base closure task force.
"I think it's very important," Shufelt said of the local government's presence in Washington. "We're not focusing on the potential losses of revenues or money if the bases should close, because that's not going to win us anything."
The local group made the case for the bases and answered questions, but didn't come away with too much information from the meeting, Rauch said.
"You don't get a lot of feedback in those kinds of meetings, you make the case," Rauch said, adding that the group talked up the air station's access to training ranges and the lack of encroachment in the area.
While the community supports the military's presence, Rauch said residents need to understand that the bases, which contribute $454 million to the annual economy, could be in danger.
"People should know we are not safe. It's not a sure thing that the air station will stay open. Even Parris Island. There are scenarios under which Parris Island could close," Rauch said. "I think the disestablishment of the Navy squadron ought to be a wake-up call. If that doesn't do it, I don't know what will."