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Article published: Jun 29, 2005
Leaders thank BRAC commission
McElveen, Spratt, Clyburn among those grateful Shaw not on DOD list

CHARLOTTE — Sumter survived round one of the Base Realignment and Closure process when it learned on May 13 that Shaw Air Force Base was not on the list of 62 military bases targeted by the U.S. Defense Department for closure or downsizing.

Round two of the process is now under way as 15 BRAC commission regional hearings are taking place here and around the nation.

At Tuesday's hearing on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College, elected officials and leaders representing South Carolina, North Carolina and West Virginia had an opportunity to make their cases for why the bases in their communities should avoid the ax.

The South Carolina delegation focused most of its attention on making a case to keep open a Navy engineering facility in Charleston. Charleston officials said at Tuesday's hearing the Pentagon used flawed data and deviated from its own criteria when it selected the engineering facility as one of the bases to be closed.

Also on the initial DOD hit list is the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Charleston. The two bases in Charleston would cost the Lowcountry up to 1,100 jobs if they are shut down.

However, state and local leaders also took the opportunity to point out the virtues of three Midlands bases not on the hit list: Fort Jackson, McEntire Joint National Guard Base and Shaw Air Force Base.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., spoke on behalf of the expanded role of Shaw in the Pentagon recommendations.

"It is a great decision and one I hope you'll support," Graham told four members of the commission present at the hearing.

Graham also said the state was ready to accommodate military growth.

"We have earned the right to grow," Graham said. "Anything you want to send this way, we are capable of handling it."

The Sumter Base Defense Committee says that Shaw is responsible for more than $850 million of Sumter's economy.

Under the Pentagon plan, Shaw will lose 74 military and one civilian position, but it will gain 816 military and 76 civilian positions, a net gain of 817 positions.

About 6,000 active duty airmen are stationed at Shaw and about 760 civilians work on the base.

Shaw is gaining most of its growth from forts McPherson and Gillem near Atlanta. Those bases' assets are being divided between six Army and two Air Force locations, with the 3rd Army headquarters moving to Shaw to be near 9th Air Force headquarters.

Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen spoke on behalf of Sumter and Shaw at Tuesday's hearing.

"We wanted to say enough about Shaw and Sumter, but we wanted to save most of the time for Charleston," McElveen said after the hearing.

McElveen told commission members that Sumter and Shaw have enjoyed a unique relationship for more than 60 years.

"We love our country," McElveen said. "And we love freedom, and we know that without the United States Armed Forces, we would have neither. Many of us are veterans. Many are military retirees. So we are proud to have a role in the defense of our country. We try to fulfill that role by doing whatever we can to welcome our neighbors at Shaw into the community, by being good friends to those who remain behind when the warriors must leave, and by anticipating the needs of our military friends before those needs become problems."

McElveen said the Sumter community is excited about the prospect that Shaw's mission will be enhanced in the future.

"We have already begun our preparations for welcoming any troops who will relocate to Shaw once this process concludes," he said. "As I said, Sumterites understand and appreciate the military and what it does, and we are proud to be a part of it, if only in a small way."

Ret. Air Force Maj. Gen. Tom Olsen, executive director of the Sumter Base Defense Committee, attended Tuesday's hearing along with Mindy Taylor, spokeswoman with Progress Energy; Deron McCormick, city manager of Sumter; and Grier Blackwelder, CEO of the Sumter Greater Chamber of Commerce.

Olsen said he remains confident the BRAC commission will accept the Pentagon recommendation to add the 3rd Army headquarters to Shaw.

Fifth District U.S. Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., spoke about the special relationship existing between Sumter and Shaw.

"It has to rank among the strongest in the Air Force," Spratt said. "It manifests itself in multiple ways: favorable zoning, affordable housing, accessible highways, public education, and hundreds of personal relationships. The people of Sumter know what Shaw means to them, and they bend over backwards to accommodate the base in their community."

Spratt also told commission members South Carolina has been hit hard by previous BRAC rounds, and the bases that remain open are a testament to their importance. Spratt said the DOD recommendations proposing additions to Shaw are no surprise.

"On base, Shaw's facilities are among the most modern in the Air Force," Spratt said. "In the last five years alone, we have built a new enlisted dining facility at a cost of $5.2 million; a new education center at a cost of $5.8 million; new aircraft maintenance facilities at a cost of $6.8 million; a new deployment processing center at a cost of $8.5 million; new or renovated housing every year; and $2.5 million for new simulators, hardware and software at Poinsett Range. We have essentially rebuilt the base from top to bottom since the early '80s, equipping it well for future missions."

Spratt said Shaw is a natural fit for the 3rd Army headquarters.

Sixth District U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., spoke on behalf of Shaw and other bases in the Midlands.

"McEntire, Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base are collectively expected to gain 1,858 new jobs as a result of the recent recommendations," Clyburn said. "These changes will have a dramatic economic impact on these communities and comply with the commission's overall goals of transforming the United States military into a more agile, joint expeditionary force. These recommendations will help to centralize our forces and military operations, and eliminate waste."

Gov. Mark Sanford told the commission that the military is deeply embedded in the state's culture.

"We have great infrastructure for the military in South Carolina, and that has been recognized by the Pentagon," he said.

The base closure commission must make its recommendations to President Bush by Sept. 8. The commission can accept all of the Pentagon's recommendations or it can pick and choose which bases it wants left off the closure list. Bush can accept the list as submitted by the commission or reject it.

Under the revised base closure law, seven of nine commissioners must agree to add a base to the closure list.

Commission member Philip Coyle, who served as chairman of Tuesday's hearing, said the commission learns something new at each hearing.

"Our deliberations and decisions will be open and transparent and will be based upon the criteria as set forth by law," he said.

The Pentagon says its BRAC proposal would save $50 billion during 20 years and make the nation's military more ready to fight the new kinds of war worldwide.

The commission will give priority to the criteria of military value, but will also consider the potential of economic, environmental, and other effects base closures would have on communities.