Salvation and desertion.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has been saved. Brunswick Naval Air Station has been sacrificed.

Wisely, members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted Wednesday to keep the Portsmouth facility open, citing the base as the “gold standard” for public shipyards and a crucial component for naval capabilities.

Foolishly, commissioners voted to close the last fully operational military airfield in the Northeast even though the Department of Defense admitted its strategic importance. The Navy will desert Brunswick and rely upon aircraft flown from Jacksonville, Fla., to patrol the shipping lanes in the North Atlantic.

Commissioners made plenty of excuses. There are National Guard bases available for aircraft deployed to the Northeast or commercial airports could be utilized – as long as the planes don’t need to be armed. By closing the base, instead of realigning it as the DOD had recommended, commissioners said savings would be realized more quickly. And closing the base gives the community a better chance at redeveloping the property.

As Sen. Olympia Snowe has said, when it comes to national defense, geography matters. By closing BNAS, the BRAC commissioners and the DOD have turned their backs on an entire region of the country. Even commissioners who voted to close the facility cited its strategic value and quality.

According to the Government Accountability Office, which is the investigative arm of Congress, the DOD has overestimated the savings it can expect from this round of base closures. While closing Brunswick might save the Navy some money, it seems unlikely that it will live up to the projected $800 million over 20 years. What the closure will do is suck more than $200 million a year out of the local economy and boost unemployment in the region into double-digits.

And while Brunswick and Maine can take heart that the air station can be redeveloped, the “opportunity” only exists because commissioners have miscalculated.

The state still awaits a decision on another facility, the Defense Finance Accounting Service center in Limestone. All we can do now is hope BRAC commissioners see the incredible bargain the military gets with the top-notch work done there.

The odds of saving all three facilities were always long. Historically, once a base makes it onto the DOD’s closure or realignment list, it’s tough to get it off. We must recognize the effort of state leaders, unions and the communities in and around the three bases for the fight they have put up. Ultimately, it was the quality and efficiency of Portsmouth that made it impossible for commissioners to close. Too bad they didn’t recognize the same traits at Brunswick.

Coupled with the purchase of credit card giant MBNA in Belfast by Bank of America, the midcoast of the state faces a lot of uncertainty. Fortunately, the region has assets – proximity to the ocean, skilled work force, increasing real estate values and commercial desirability – that can ease the transition.

The timeline for the closure of Brunswick Naval Air Station, slated to begin in 2009, gives the area time to develop a comprehensive approach to redevelopment. But it will be incumbent upon Gov. Baldacci and members of the congressional delegation to ensure that every available resource is secured and dedicated to the effort.

The news for Maine could have been much worse. Thousands of good jobs have been saved at Portsmouth, but it’s impossible not to look sadly upon Brunswick’s demise. A great national defense asset survives; another has been lost.