Gannett News Service March 17, 2005
Granholm, Pentagon discuss military base closings
By Katherin Hutt Scott
WASHINGTON -- After meeting with top Pentagon officials Wednesday, Gov. Jennifer Granholm indicated Warren's Detroit Arsenal stands a better chance than Battle Creek's Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center of surviving this year's round of military base closings.
Concern in Michigan this year has focused on the arsenal and the federal center.
Granholm didn't specifically address prospects for Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township but said Wednesday's meeting was largely positive.
Granholm met with Phil Grone, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment, and Michael Wynne, acting undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. They will play pivotal roles in recommending which military installations are closed and which are spared this year.
The governor said she argued that the federal center, which catalogs military parts and disposes of excess military property, handles supply management in a technologically advanced way. The center, which employs 1,800 people, is Battle Creek's second-largest employer.
"That intellectual capital will not just leave and go somewhere else," Granholm told reporters after her Pentagon visit.
She said Grone and Wynne responded to her arguments by nodding.
"I'm sure they nod to others, too," Granholm said.
Grone told Gannett News Service on Monday that he has been lobbied by dozens of lawmakers and countless citizens groups who want to save their local military installations.
Granholm said her arguments in favor of saving the arsenal fit well with the Pentagon's goal of transforming the U.S. military into a leaner operation that leverages technology.
The arsenal, an Army facility that employs 4,200, handles contracting for military vehicles.
Michigan's automobile manufacturers and its universities are working to develop advanced automotive technology, Granholm said.
"That is a strength we've got," she said. "They (Grone and Wynne) were very receptive to the arguments."
Defense policy expert John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, said Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center is essentially an office park and its jobs could be outsourced anywhere -- including India.
The Pentagon is considering moving its office parks onto military bases so they are easier to protect from possible terrorist attacks, Pike said. One possible option for the federal center is to move it to the Michigan Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek, he said.
Rep. Joe Schwarz, R-Battle Creek, said it would make little sense to move the federal center's jobs out of Battle Creek, where they have remained for at least 35 years.
"It would be expensive, it would be disruptive and it would be inappropriate for them to move the operations," Schwarz said.
The federal center was on an initial closure list during the 1993 base-closure round but was removed after lobbying by Schwarz, then a state senator, and by Battle Creek residents and federal center employees.
The Detroit Arsenal hasn't been targeted for closure in past closure rounds.
The Pentagon, which wants to eliminate up to 25 percent of excess capacity in domestic military bases, has until May 16 to come up with a list of recommended closures and realignments. An independent, nine-member Base Realignment and Closure Commission will review the Pentagon's list of recommended closures, make changes and give President Bush a final list in September.
None of the commissioners, who were nominated Tuesday by the White House and must be confirmed by the Senate, has any obvious ties to Michigan, Granholm said.
(Contributing: Ana Radelat, GNS)
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