BRUNSWICK – The last active duty military air base in New England faces an uncertain future as the Pentagon prepares to announce the closure of nearly a quarter of the roughly 420 domestic military bases.
As with countless other military installations, the Pentagon has reviewed Brunswick Naval Air Station in preparing a list of bases to close under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s long-term transformation of the military.
Such impending closures have prompted heated lobbying from supporters, including former airfield commanders, who argue Brunswick plays an important role in homeland defense, in addition to remaining the lifeblood for neighboring communities.
“There’s an increasing awareness that the nation faces a threat in terrorist attacks from the sea,” said Ralph Dean, a former Navy pilot and member of a task force working to save the base. “And when you look at any of those scenarios, patrol aircraft such as those at Brunswick have a huge role. They’re pivotal.”
Built in the 1950s to defend the nation against attacks from the Atlantic Ocean, P-3 Orions patrolled for Soviet submarines. Brunswick was one of four bases – one on each corner of the continental United States – responsible for surveillance and interdiction.
The base now supports five active duty and two reserve Orion squadrons, and since the end of the Cold War the propeller-driven surveillance aircraft have adapted to the war on terror through operational support in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some contend that its geographic location, as well as its ability to adapt to a new mission, bode well for the base’s future. They also note that plans are in the works to create an Armed Forces Reserve training center on the base.
“The Department of Defense is in the midst of formulating a new homeland defense strategy that calls for a greater reliance on maritime surveillance and interdiction,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “And the Brunswick Naval Air Station is ideally situated for maritime surveillance and interdiction.”
Recent operations have demonstrated to ranking homeland defense officials, including Assistant Secretary of Defense Paul McHale, the Orion’s adaptability for defending the homeland and supporting future military operations, Collins said.
Congress authorized the fifth round of Base Realignment and Closure – commonly known as BRAC – last year. While the list of proposed bases to be closed won’t be released until May, military experts say there is a strong case to be made for Brunswick.
“Because Brunswick really is the last fully operational military air base in the region, it can make a case with regards to the issues of homeland security that other places cannot,” said Loren B. Thompson at the Lexington Institute. “If there were multiple bases in New England, Brunswick would have difficulty.”
The base’s economic importance also has been cited as reason to keep it open. Brunswick employs about 4,800 military and civilian personnel, and puts approximately $187 million into the local economy, including $115 million in salaries.
In recent weeks, support for the base has begun to resonate from nearby towns that depend on the economy the airfield generates.
“It would affect a large majority of our businesses in one way or another if it closed,” said Catharine Glover, president of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber of Commerce. “Our sole focus is to keep Brunswick off that list.”
Some business owners, however, question whether others have fully grasped the real possibility that the base could be closed.
“Because of its small size, people tend to discount the impact of the base. I don’t even know if I can say they’re moderately concerned,” said Wes Beal, owner of the Parkwood Inn near the base. “I haven’t seen a real effort to save it.”
The Navy has spent more than $100 million at Brunswick Naval Air Station over the past four years, building 126 housing units, a 500-bed barracks, a new control tower and a six-bay hangar, as well as resurfacing the runways and making infrastructure improvements.
But modernizations don’t assure survival.
During the 1980s, about $300 million was spent on upgrades at the Loring Air Force Base in Limestone. Improvements included a $25 million hospital that was completed in 1991, the same year it was announced that the base would be shuttered.
Some including Collins saw the decision to close Loring as a mistake, and they worry this round of base closings has moved too fast to guarantee arguments to keep Brunswick off the Pentagon’s list of closures will be heard.
Said Dean: “Mistakes are going to be made. And we don’t want Brunswick to be one of those mistakes.”
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Brunswick Naval Air Station http://www.nasb.navy.mil/
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