| |
 |
|
News Index
|
| |
Hanscom Will Not Expand (Lowell Sun)
|
| |
Panel kills plan to grow research center, add jobs
By EVAN LEHMANN, Sun Washington Bureau
Lowell Sun
WASHINGTON -- Hanscom Air Force Base suffered a blow yesterday when the independent commission charged with reshaping the nation's military installations rejected a Pentagon proposal to infuse 1,100 jobs into the Bedford facility.
The nine-member Base Realignment and Closure Commission cast two votes that halted the movement of personnel from three other bases to Hanscom, highlighting apparent mistakes in the Pentagon's plan that called for what commissioners said was the expensive and unneeded relocation of hundreds of workers.
Instead of infusing Hanscom with high-tech research specialists, the Pentagon proposed shipping hundreds of workers with jobs that focused, for instance, on installing computer software at bases in Ohio and elsewhere.
“It was just a dumb idea done by people trying to do something right,” said commissioner James T. Hill, a retired general.
“I see no reason to spend the money to move that,” said another commissioner, retired Gen. Lloyd “Fig” Newton.
Hanscom would have received personnel from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Massachusetts officials expressed disappointment with the decision, but emphasized the upside of the national reshaping process: Hanscom will remain open.
“We won this battle on May 13 when the Pentagon decided not to close Hanscom, saving 30,000 jobs in Massachusetts,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.
The Pentagon's May announcement relieved state officials, who had committed significant time and money to preserve the facility, and also protect employers and families, whose lives are intertwined with the base.
“I am disappointed we are not adding new jobs at Hanscom today, but our expectation is that as military spending and research grows, so will Hanscom,” said Gov. Mitt Romney.
The state Legislature approved a $242 million bond in February for improvements to the base, and the commonwealth and the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative (MassDTI) paid about $2.5 million to Washington consultants working to preserve Hanscom.
“For us, the primary objective was to keep the base open,” said Chris Anderson, president of MassDTI, adding that Hanscom is “still in growth mode.”
The BRAC commission indicated it still supports transferring research specialists from the other bases to Hanscom. But such a move would affect fewer than 300 people, commissioners said, and could be done outside the jurisdiction of BRAC.
“Both the Pentagon and BRAC commission now realize that Hanscom is the pre-eminent development center for communication and intelligence technologies,” said Rep. Marty Meehan, a Lowell Democrat. “Hanscom is going to play a central role as we transform our military in the coming decades.”
Local officials expected the new jobs to spur spin-off employment opportunities in the four towns surrounding the base. But BRAC commissioners seemed perplexed by the Pentagon's proposal, which included shipping cryptographers to research-driven Hanscom.
Commission Chairman Anthony Principi asked a BRAC analyst about each group of personnel slated by the Pentagon for relocation to Hanscom.
Of the hundreds to be transferred, only a handful were research specialists, said the analyst, Les Farrington.
“Are you sure? Do you have your numbers right?” Principi asked.
The numbers were right, prompting Kennedy to say later, “It's unfortunate that the Pentagon misclassified the jobs
|
|
|
Video: May 16 Breakfast with Congresswoman Tsongas at Mercury Computer Systems (7/7/08)
Governor Makes Case for Cyber Command at Hanscom (5/22/08)
Regional Effort Needed to Attract Cyberspace Command (4/25/08)
General Quenneville Tapped to Lead Regions Defense Voice (1/25/08)
Hanscom Could Be Site of Cyber Command Center (3/20/08)
Bay State Officials Target Air Force Cyber R&D Dollars (1/4/08)
Natick Labs: Business, Military Putting Their Brains Together (11/27/07)
Base Realignments Lead Tech Firms to Ocean State (11/20/07)
Amid Bio Push, Older Tech Firms Look for Love (11/16/07)
Collaboration is Critical to Mass. Defense Sector (9/7/07)
<
|
|
