GlobalSecurity.org In the News

U.S.News & World Report August 25, 2005

New England spared in base closures

By Bret Schulte

New England, hit harder than any other region by Pentagon recommendations to close or realign 63 major bases, scored two major victories in final deliberations and votes by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The independent panel's decision to spare the New London submarine base in Groton, Conn., and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, dealt Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld a double blow in his bid to reshape military facilities consistent with his vision of a nimbler, 21st-century fighting force.

The decisions were greeted with a mix of relief and exuberance across New England, which faced the potentially devastating loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars from its state economies. In Connecticut alone, the submarine base contributes more than $2 billion to the state economy and helped account for some 31,000 jobs. After the vote, Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut derided the Pentagon's recommendation as "senseless" and praised the commission for "recogniz[ing] how critically important this installation and the United States submarine fleet are to meeting the challenges of the 21st century." BRAC Chairman Anthony Principi hailed New London, built in 1868 and the oldest submarine base in the nation, as a "center of excellence" whose abandonment would be a "tragic loss to the nation."

In terms of total job losses faced by the BRAC recommendations, only Maine would have suffered more than Connecticut. In addition to the closure of the 205-year-old Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine stood to lose its entire air fleet and half its 2,000-person workforce at Brunswick Naval Air Station. Besides the proposed smaller closing of an accounting center in Bangor, the state estimated it would lose $465 million annually through the loss of 12,000 direct and indirect jobs. The vote to save Portsmouth was greeted with repeated "steam whistle" blasts at the shipyard in Kittery, as locals and politicians rejoiced. But, as Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine pointed out, "Today is one of conflicting emotions for Maine." Shortly before the Portsmouth vote, the BRAC Commission voted against the Pentagon's recommendation to realign Brunswick and decided to close the facility entirely.

The decisions mark the end of three months of intense campaigning by both states' congressional delegations and community leaders. In Kittery alone, about 7,000 supporters of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard greeted the BRAC commissioners on their June tour of the facility, wearing bright yellow T-shirts reading "Save Our Shipyard." The community effort was joined by a behind-the-scenes lobbying effort by community groups. Like many states, Maine also hired a Washington, D.C., consulting firm to scour the Pentagon data for inconsistencies and inaccuracies.

The effort paid off, much to the shock of some military analysts. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org said that "surprise is too weak a word" to describe his reaction to the news that New London and Portsmouth were saved.

"I was astonished," he says. Pike contends that a shrinking submarine force means that "these submarine yards are not going to have anything to do. They're going to be carving scrimshaw."