PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford finished his tour of state military installations Monday, visiting the Marine Corps Recruit Depot and saying he remains most concerned Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter could be targeted in a new round of base closings.

"The spot that's got the brightest light on it is Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter," Sanford said. "We would do anything in our power to shield Shaw because of the military utility and second of all, the impact Shaw has in the Pee Dee area."

During recent months, Sanford has been visited the state's military installations even as Pentagon officials are collecting data to be used in compiling a new base closing list.

Sanford spent about 90 minutes touring the Marine Corps Training Depot which provides basic training to male marines from east of the Mississippi as well as all women Marines. Almost 17,000 recruits a year pass through its gates.

Sanford was briefed by base leaders, had a bus tour of the base and later sat down to lunch with six recruits from the Carolinas.

Following the tour, Sanford said he's optimistic Parris Island will not be targeted.

"You would have to draw the conclusion that as military planners look at this facility, it is in many ways irreplaceable," said Sanford, who has visited Parris Island before but was making his first official visit as governor.

"We are on an island and that kind of natural boundary plays to this kind of recruiting facility," he said. "You never say never, but I would say compared to some of the other facilities in South Carolina this, from my perspective, is one of the safer ones."

Sanford said he remains concerned about Shaw and the effects losing the base would have on the economy of that area of the state.

"It is an economic engine in a part of South Carolina where there are relatively few when you compare that to Charleston or Columbia or the Lowcountry," he said.

"Jointness is one thing that Shaw does not have," said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. James Gardner, who is a member the South Carolina Military Base Task Force, which is trying to head off any base closures in the state.

"If Shaw had joint mission, it would help them considerably," said Gardner, who toured Parris Island with Sanford. He said moving operations from the McEntire Air National Guard Station near Columbia to Shaw might help in providing Shaw that joint mission.

Sanford has now visited all the state's military installations as South Carolina prepares for another round of base closings.

Sanford said while he has not made an official visit to the Charleston Air Force Base, he is more than familiar with it because that's where does reserve duty with the Air Force Reserve's 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will submit a list of recommended base closings and realignments by May 16 of next year.

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission - or BRAC - will then review the list and make its recommendations to Congress.