Westover Closing?

By Paula Canning

Staff Writer

CHICOPEE As Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld prepares to submit his recommended list of military base closings to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission this Friday, Governor Mitt Romney has said that he is "pretty confident" that Chicopee's Westover Air Reserve Base and the Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield will dodge possible closings or cutbacks.

"We've made our message loud and clear that these [bases] are essential to the protection of our homeland," Romney said at a press conference last Friday at the Westover Metropolitan Airport.

Prior to the press conference, in during which Romney was joined by Congressmen Richard Neal and John Olver, Romney took a tour of Westover's 2,500 acre reserve base.

Neal said the tour was intended to "rekindle the knowledge that [Romney] possesses" about the base.

Romney said that while the Westover base, which is the largest in the country, is subject to "some vulnerability," its modernized, "superb" facilities and its ideal location for the projection of U.S. military abroad places the base in a favorable light.

He said that Westover's C-5s and Barnes' A-10s play an important role in the nation's security as they continue to have "ongoing missions."

Romney also said that Barnes Airforce Base's growth potential is an asset to its facilities.

"Barnes is definitely a candidate for expansion, not elimination," Romney said. "We are all working together to do our best to ensure that we are able to keep these bases that are vital to both the region and the state."

The BRAC process is intended to reorganize the military's infrastructure to increase efficiency, facilitate new ways of doing business, and increase operational readiness, according to the United State's Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure homepage, www.defenselink.mil/brac/.

According to the site, the government took the same action in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995, closing a total of 55 major domestic bases.

When the commission makes its final recommendations to President George W. Bush and to Congress, bases may be charged to stay open in its current state; get new missions and personnel, close outright; be rearranged to cut jobs and missions; "or shuttered indefinitely but remain in government control," according to the site.

Neal said on Friday that lawmakers are "completely committed to keeping Westover and Barnes preserved as we know them."

He said that the responsiveness of the Governor's office throughout the process of advocating for the continued operation of the bases has "demonstrated that keeping these bases open is a nonpartisan process."

Olver emphasized the importance of realizing that the Westover Air Reserve Base and the Barnes Air National Guard Base "compliment each other as readiness packages."

"These reserve units work together very closely," he said. "Both represent a package that can really grow, and I'm confident that they will remain part of our future."

Romney said that he has met with delegates from military bases throughout the state to discuss a plan of action in the event that one of the bases is a candidate for closure.

"We're ready to go with that," Romney said."We're laying out a plan to ensure that the economic impact in such a case will be as small as possible."

In fiscal year 2003, the Westover Airforce base brought an estimated $183,542,883 into the western Massachusetts economy, according to Westover Airforce Reserve Base Online, www.afrc.af.mil/439AW/.

Senator Michael Knapik said that he proud of the efforts of the congressmen and the Governor's Office.

"I can sleep easier knowing that we have a top notch team going to bat for us in Washington," he said.