Bases remain open despite budget cuts

Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Lakehurst Naval Air Station will remain open amid deep cuts in the U.S. military budget.

By: Scott Morgan
   The area’s three military bases were spared last week when the Department of Defense announced Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base and Lakehurst Naval Air Station would remain open amid deep cuts in the U.S. military budget.
   The DOD released its long-awaited Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) report on May 13, stating that missions would actually increase at McGuire and Fort Dix, while all three bases would stay open under a joint management arrangement. The bases escaped an ax that cut operations at 180 military installations, including 33 major military bases worldwide. Fort Monmouth, a longstanding Army base, was the only base in New Jersey the DOD recommended be closed.
   News that the area’s bases would stay put delighted local officials, who said they anticipated the bases would prove to be too vital to cut.
   "We were confident that the functions and duties performed at both Fort Dix and McGuire were essential to the security of our nation and the war on terror," said Burlington County Freeholder Dawn Addiego, who also served as military liaison for the BRAC initiative.
   Fort Dix and McGuire have always been important to our national defense," echoed county Freeholder Vincent Farias, "but they also have always been an integral part of what we do" in terms of economic development and preservation initiatives.
   Ms. Addiego said the growth of military operations, outlined by the DOD to expand the amount of missions at Fort Dix and McGuire, provide "a huge economical and emotional boost" for the area.
   According to the DOD, McGuire will see 535 new positions added, while Fort Dix will see a growth of 353 new positions. Lakehurst will lose 186 jobs, including 54 civilian posts, and be realigned to work more tightly with McGuire in its airborne missions.
   U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-3rd, the only congressman to represent the Army, Air Force and Navy throughout the 2005 BRAC hearings, said, "I am glad that the Department of Defense has recognized the military value of an Army post, a Navy base and an Air Force base being co-located together, and the natural efficiencies that spring from that type of jointness. Fort Dix is the number one deployer in the U.S. of reserve forces since Sept. 11, McGuire is the largest refueling tanker base in the U.S. and has the newest cargo planes in the Air Force. Lakehurst is the only place that designs and builds aircraft carrier catapults and landing gear. These are critical missions to project U.S. military power around the world."
   U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th, called the salvaging of Lakehurst, which was slated to close in 1995 and was saved after much lobbying, "a big win." Mr. Smith said he plans to work with Navy leaders and the command of the joint facility to find alternative jobs within the new McGuire-Fort Dix-Lakehurst for the 54 civilians whose jobs are slated for transfer.
   Mr. Smith said he also plans to work to save Fort Monmouth, the closing of which Sen. Jon Corzine called "bad for New Jersey and bad for America."
   Emil Kaunitz, president of the Ocean County citizen’s group Friends of Navy Lakehurst, said in a written statement, "We are very pleased with the recommendation to keep Navy Lakehurst active in its support of the nation’s war fighters. We believe it will ultimately prove to be good for the Navy, good for the Department of Defense and has great potential for the state of New Jersey."
   The BRAC report will be reviewed by the General Accounting Office by July 1. Any adjustments to the report are due by Sept. 8, when the final report will be sent to the White House. President George W. Bush is due to approve or deny the report by Sept. 23.