On Aug. 24, 2005, the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders took a very strong position on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission’s decision to close Fort Monmouth. It read as follows:
“It is with great sadness and disappointment that we receive the news today that Fort Monmouth has been selected for closure. Fort Monmouth has been a vital part of the area’s economy since World War II and is one of Monmouth County’s largest employers.”
Closing the fort will have a devastating impact on our local economy and our local schools, as well as the thousands of employees and contractors who work in and around Fort Monmouth. It will affect 5,300 employees, who will lose their jobs or be forced to relocate, plus thousands of other contract workers and local businesses who depend on the fort for their livelihood.
Fort Monmouth officials have estimated that closing the fort would affect some 22,000 jobs, impacting residents and businesses of Monmouth County – particularly to the five towns surrounding the fort: Tinton Falls, Eatontown, Little Silver, Oceanport and Shrewsbury.
Fort Monmouth is home to the Army’s Communications Electronics Command and the Communications and Electronics Research and Development Center. It serves as research and development center for communications, surveillance and reconnaissance systems that U.S. soldiers are using in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also is home to the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School, which trains cadet candidates for admission into West Point.”
From the inception of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority, created by Gov. Jon Corzine, I have served as the Freeholder appointment to this body. My position was, and still is, that it is not financially prudent to move the fort operations to Aberdeen, Md. The entire Freeholder Board once again adamantly rejects the Fort Monmouth closure.
However, until the Congress or the president reverse their position on closure, the authority must continue in its mission to effect a reasonable, well-planned transition. I totally agree, as do the other members of the authority, that our timetable must be extended beyond Dec. 7, 2007.
Whether the fort closes or remains open, I will continue to fight to keep the Patterson Army Clinic at Fort Monmouth open. The clinic is state-of-the-art and services thousands of men and women who have served their country honorably. They will need medical and mental health support after they leave the service and while they are awaiting discharge. In addition to the veterans, let us not forget the retirees whose credentials of service must not be overlooked.
Lillian G. Burry
Freeholder and FMERPA member