Nuke plant could benefit base

Dear editor:

The Elmore County Commission is facing a tough decision in re-classifying 1,300 acres from agricultural to heavy industrial for the proposed AEHI power plant. Parties on both sides have made their statements in support of or opposition to the development without a clear sign of which way the commission will decide.

Speculation amongst Elmore County voters is that the vote will pass due to the current economic hardships the country is facing. While an increase in jobs and tax revenue from the proposed plant are welcomed many are still unsure of the overall effect to the community at large. Others wait patiently to see where the cards fall.

Chief amongst the politically silent spectators are the members of Mountain Home Air Force Base. The base issued an official statement April 15 stating that they neither disapprove nor endorse the power plant in their attempts to tread the difficult political atmosphere surrounding the issue. They, however, are still watching.

If the plant is approved, Mountain Home AFB will have a new mission added to their duties. One of Air Space Security.

With the air surveillance capabilities of the 726 Air Control Squadron and air interdiction capabilities of the F-15 fighter squadrons they are well equipped to handle the new roles of Homeland Security for the facility. A diamond in the rough, the addition of this tasking could not come at a more opportune time.

With Defense Secretary Robert Gates's spending cuts and shut down of defense projects it won't be long before BRAC is re-examined. The BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) list has seen more than 350 bases closed since 1988 with more on the chopping block in 2011. With the base's low military population, remote location, and aging airframe that is being regulated to guard and reserve units a question of the base's survivability exists.

As the largest employer in Elmore County and direct local financial impact of $454.5 million, according to the 2007 Economic Impact Analysis, the closure would devastate the local economy.

Besides the jobs and tax revenue that the power plant would bring it has an even greater impact on Elmore County's largest supporter. With an additional Homeland Security tasking officials in Washington would have to think twice before closing Mountain Home AFB, granting it a breath of fresh air and years of continued support to the community.

H.C. Walker