It follows him on vacation and pops into his mind at the most mundane moments. As chairman of Beaufort's Military Enhancement Committee, he has led the effort to impress upon Pentagon officials just what Beaufort's three military installations have to offer future force projections.
"I'd be foolish not to (think about it)," he said.
With the May 16 deadline for the Defense Department's release of recommended base closures a month away, the committee is as busy as ever.
But while most of the enhancement committee's work so far has focused on preventing any Beaufort bases from being shut down, members are now focusing on what would happen to the area if Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort has to accommodate additional squadrons or if Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is asked to pump out additional recruits.
If Beaufort's bases are called upon for extra responsibilities, thousands of new residents could flood the area in the next few years as a result, Payne said.
"We hope we would gain some missions, and that would require some planning because you'd have an influx of people," Payne said. "That means highways, schools, housing, these kind of things need to be planned for properly."
The effort to at least think about expansion will kick into gear Monday when Payne will meet with Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton, Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray and Beaufort Mayor Bill Rauch to discuss what would need to be done if missions are added to Beaufort's installations.
"If people are moving in, you're going to need all kinds of things," Payne said. "We've already discussed closure issues with them; this is the other side of the coin."
The committee is also under budget in some areas, particularly travel, he said. If any Beaufort bases are put on the BRAC list, that travel money will most likely be used up through lobbying trips to Washington, D.C.
One more trip to the nation's capital is planned before May 16 so that a Beaufort delegation including Payne and County Council Vice Chairman W.R. "Skeet" Von Harten can make a final pitch to Defense Department officials.
Any unused funds in the committee's budget will be returned to contributors as promised, Payne said, but that also depends on the May 16 list.
"We told people that at the end of the process, if there was money left over, we'd return it in proportion to what they gave," he said. "If a closure is mandated, we'll use it to fight that closure through September. If we need to do lobbying on either side, we'll use those resources."
Whatever fate BRAC deals to Beaufort and Port Royal, Payne said, the committee will change back to the military affairs branch of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, where it originally began, once the President's Base Closure and Realignment list is finalized in October or November.
"The important thing is we don't have our head in the sand," Payne said. "Either of two scenarios would require a lot of effort, and we realize that."
The committee is also looking to have a part in any redevelopment authority should any area bases close, because having one entity that those who are interested in developing the bases could go to would eliminate infighting and other problems, Payne said.
"We will be descended upon by a plague of locusts in the form of consultants and developers" should any bases close, committee member Thomas Van Etten said at Wednesday's meeting.
Even if Beaufort's installations are spared from the list in May, committee members won't have time for anything but the quickest sighs of relief, Payne said. Either way, there will still be much to do.
"It will be about how long it takes for people to drink some champagne," Payne said of any congratulatory gestures.
If bases are not on the list, they will probably not be added by the BRAC Commission because Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has made it clear that he doesn't expect the nine members to alter his recommendations substantially, said Gen. Jim Shufelt, a committee member who is also assigned to Gov. Mark Sanford's BRAC Task Force.
"The Office of the Secretary of Defense won't look too kindly on the commission adding something to the list that was not on the list to begin with," he said. "That can upset the whole matrix, as far as the Department of Defense is concerned."
But for all the talk, plans and meetings, everything still hinges on May 16, a Monday, the deadline for the release of the closure list.
Payne said at this Wednesday's committee meeting that the list could be released as early as Friday, May 13.
"Bad news is usually sent out on Fridays," he said.