Community ready for BRAC threat

With massive funding cuts and a major drawdown of its force structure in the near future, the Department of Defense wants to launch another round of Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC).

Congress, a year away from an election, has just rejected the president's proposal to do so in his 2014 Fiscal Year budget, with the House Armed Services Committee placing a provision in the bill that would prohibit DoD from planning for a BRAC this year.

But increasingly, observers believe Congress will be forced to approve a BRAC -- in either 2015 (after the 2014 congressional elections) or in 2017 (after the 2016 presidential elections). The betting appears to be on 2015 and across the country states and local communities are beginning to form groups to try and save their bases. The state of Mississippi, for example, just appropriated $2 million for lobbying efforts and hired a professional lobbying firm.

But in Mountain Home, that lobbying effort has been going on for 26 years. During that time the city and the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee have been sending delegations back annually to meet with top officials in Congress and the Air Force to lobby on behalf of the local airbase.

"They know who we are," said Billy Richey, the governor's military affairs liaison. "They don't give us the typical Chamber of Commerce briefings any more. We get down to business" when the group goes back to Air Combat Command headquarters in Langley, Va.

This year, Richey, Fire Chief Alan Bermensolo (who is a member of the Air Force's prestigious community leaders committee), city councilwoman Alain Issac and Shane Zimmer, who leads the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee, all made the annual trip to Langley.

"We have a long-term commitment (to Mountain Home Air Force Base)," Richey said. "They know that. They know about our community support. They know about the non-encroachment ordinances. They know about the state and Owyhee County support.

"We have that respect at ACC (Air Combat Command)."

Richey said the group talked with ACC's top leaders about a BRAC, which they expected wouldn't be initiated until 2015, and the strength of the local airbase -- it's capacity, flying weather, training ranges and lack of encroachment, all positive points for the base. The only issue is a long-term water supply -- and the current head of the Idaho Department of Water Resources is "very positive" about helping the base obtain those water rights.

In addition, the base's participation in the Peace Carvin V program, which brings a training squadron from the Republic of Singapore here, has recently been extended.

"Ten years ago, we were selling Mountain Home AFB to ACC. Now, you go back there and you get the feeling that everybody knows that it's one of our top bases. Everybody knows about our training range. It's just a different feeling of positive vibes."

Richey added that when all the various criteria are added up that were used to keep or close bases in the last five BRAC rounds, in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 2005, Mountain Home has all the boxes for the "keeper" criteria checked off.

"If it was just based on the technical criteria, I'd say let's have a BRAC," said Richey. "We almost certainly would wind up with an expansion of forces here.

"But it's the politics that enters this thing that makes it uncertain."

Technically, a BRAC is not supposed to be affected by politics. Once a BRAC is initiated by Congress (the 2005 BRAC recommended a round of evaluations every eight years), then an independent commission is set up to recommend a list of bases to be closed and where forces will be realigned to the remaining bases. A total of 350 bases have been closed since the original BRAC in 1989. The president must approve the list (or reject it) and then send it to Congress, which also must accept or reject the entire list -- they can't tinker with it. It's an all or nothing vote.

Nevertheless, the commission pays close attention to the recommendations of the military in developing its list, and the military is mindful of the political realities behind its various funding requests. That's why lobbying efforts are launched every time a BRAC begins.

But while Idaho doesn't have the congressional power of some states, or the resources to pour millions of dollars into lobbying efforts, 26 years of annual tours to meet with top Air Force officials has made its mark.

"They know who we are," Richey said.

"Everybody else is just getting started (lobbying). We've been doing it for a long time."