Date Published: May 21, 2005   

Shaw graded high in report

By LESLIE CANTU
Item Staff Writer
lesliec@theitem.com

The public is finally getting to see some of the details that determined last week's Base Realignment and Closure announcement from the Pentagon.

A 432-page report posted on the Department of Defense's Web site outlines the Air Force's analysis and recommendations. The Pentagon recommended that Shaw Air Force Base gain 742 military and 75 civilian positions.

The report shows that Shaw earned the sixth-best score for fighter missions.

It also earned the seventh-best score for bomber missions and the ninth-best for airlift missions.

Each of the Air Force's 154 installations were graded on eight different mission compatibility indices, which covered fighter, bomber, airlift, tanker, special operations, unmanned aerial vehicles, space operations and command, control, and intelligence/surveillance/reconnaissance missions.

The Air Force's explanation of how it developed the grading systems reads like the ultimate real-world word problem.

For example, for the fighter mission, if a base had more than 241,000 square yards of serviceable ramp (area for landing and storing aircraft) it scored 100 points. More than 198,000 square yards scored 75 points and more than 66,000 square yards scored 25 points.

Fewer square yards earned the base no points.

Bases scored points on everything from the number of C-17 cargo planes they could accommodate to the number of days with visibility better than three nautical miles.

Retired Gen. John "Skip" Hall of the Spectrum Group in Washington provided retired Maj. Gen. Tom Olsen, executive director of the Sumter Base Defense Committee, with a breakdown of Shaw's total score when compared to 16 other fighter bases.

Shaw came in ninth among the 17 fighter bases based on all eight mission indices, with a total score of 542. Top scorer Eglin Air Force Base, located in Florida, earned 634 points.

Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, which is slated for closure, earned 441 points.

Olsen said he doesn't think Shaw will find itself in competition with Cannon since none of Cannon's F-16s will be coming to Shaw.

However, Georgia is already fighting to hold on to the 3rd Army, currently headquartered at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, with support staff at Fort Gillem. Those soldiers are scheduled to transfer to Shaw.

"The Army is going to have a problem because the folks in Atlanta are really fussing about the loss of McPherson," Olsen said.

Maintaining McPherson isn't practical, Olsen said, because most of its buildings are more than 100 years old and on the National Historic Register, making them expensive to maintain.

Olsen thinks it will be difficult to ferret out any errors in analysis on which to base a challenge. The BRAC commission will also have to consider how each specific move fits into Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's total vision for transforming the military.

"Secretary Rumsfeld has told the BRAC folks, 'Don't mess with my list,'" Olsen said.

Olsen or other Sumter representatives will likely attend the Atlanta regional BRAC meeting on June 30 to hear what Fort McPherson's defenders have to say.

However, Sumter won't need to make a presentation to the BRAC commission unless the commission decides to visit Shaw.

The Support of Shaw Committee, a group of local businesses that have raised money to hire the Spectrum Group to consult on Shaw's behalf, still has $243,916 in the bank to help in the continuing BRAC process.

Once Shaw is officially in the clear, any remaining money can go into programs to help Sumter prepare for the expected influx of up to 3,000 people, Olsen said.

Growth of 3,000 people, an estimate that includes family members, would equal three years' worth of growth for Sumter.


Contact Staff Writer Leslie Cantu at lesliec@theitem.com or 803-774-1250.