Florida is preparing for another round of military-base closures planned as part of a sweeping Pentagon move to cut spending by $487 billion over the next decade.
But leaders on the Space Coast remain optimistic about the future of Patrick Air Force Base and other military facilities in Brevard County.
Brevard civic leaders said they have stayed informed since the last round of base realignments and closures in 2005 and have remained in contact with officials at the Department of Defense.
The Space Coast Economic Commission headed the Space Coast Defense Alliance, which aggressively fought to keep the work done at Naval Ordnance Test Unit from being moved away from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Base Realignment and Closure, or BRAC, had NOTU in its sights but moved on after the strong lobbying by Brevard civic leaders and elected officials.
"We fought it and turned over the decision," said Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive officer of the Economic Development of Florida's Space Coast. "Since the last BRAC closures, we haven't stopped interfacing with the Pentagon."
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday the closures are part of the Pentagon's strategy to reshape its mission to favor quick-strike capabilities over conventional, land-based operations while meeting congressionally mandated spending reductions.
"The military will be smaller and leaner, but it will be agile, flexible, rapidly deployable and technologically advanced," Panetta said. "It will be a cutting-edge force."
That stronger dependence on technology plays well for the Space Coast.
Paul Hirsch is president of Madison Government Affairs, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm that has worked with the Space Coast Defense Alliance since the 2005 BRAC.
"I actually think that we're in better shape than in 2005," Hirsch said. "We still need to stay vigilant."
Hirsch, who served on the BRAC commission from 1991 to 1993, said the area is better off because of the ongoing effort of its leaders. And with the move toward a leaner force, technology and the work done by the 45th Space Wing in launching satellites become even more important.
"It put Patrick and Cape Canaveral in a much better position than we were in six years ago," he said. "Ballistic missile testing that takes place at NOTU is not going to decrease, but could increase."
Hirsch also pointed to the Air Force Technical Applications Center, a $158 million construction project under way as a valuable asset to the national mission that is headquartered at Patrick. The cost of closing Patrick would greatly increase if AFTAC, which monitors nuclear testing around the world, had to be moved.
Fewer soldiers
The plan also calls for delaying or abandoning purchases of some weapons, reducing the use of contractors, revamping health benefits for military retirees, and cutting troop numbers. The number of active-duty soldiers would drop from 562,000 to 490,000 over five years, while the Marine Corps would shrink from 202,000 to 182,000.
The Pentagon will renew its push to raise health care costs for military retirees under age 65. That includes a proposed increase in retirees' enrollment fees, co-pays and deductibles. And military pay will continue to rise in tandem with the average annual increase in private-sector wages, but starting in 2015, raises may be capped a level slightly below annual growth in civilian pay.
Some older aircraft will be retired, including some C-130s. The 920th Rescue Wing has six HC-130s based at Patrick, but it was unknown Thursday evening whether any of those planes will be affected.
Neither Panetta nor other defense officials who spoke Thursday would discuss which military installations might shrink or close.
Florida actually gained more than 14,000 jobs during the last BRAC round. That was due mostly to the addition of more than 10,000 jobs at Cecil Field, a former Naval Air Station in Jacksonville that services military, commercial, and private jets and is the primary aviation support facility for the Florida Army National Guard.
Eglin Air Force Base near Pensacola and Naval Air Station Jacksonville also added more than 2,000 jobs apiece under the 2005 realignment.
Florida could be better positioned than some other states this time around, as well.
Not only has the Space Coast Defense Alliance worked to keep what is here, but it also has looked at what other missions can be brought here in a future realignment.
Weatherman is part of the 25-member panel Air Force Chief of Staff Civic Leader Program, which provides ideas, advice and feedback to the Air Force's top leaders about service issues in their local areas.
The planned defense-spending cuts of $487 billion over 10 years could cost Florida more than 39,000 defense-related jobs beginning in 2013, according to a study released in November by George Mason University in Virginia and underwritten by the aerospace industry.
Panetta told reporters there are no easy answers given automatic spending cuts approved by Congress last year and the $15 trillion federal debt.
"Make no mistake, the savings that we are proposing will impact on all 50 states and many congressional districts across America," he said. "This will be a test, a test of whether reducing the deficit is about talk or about action."
Associated Press