Loring advocates argue for facility before base closing commission

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BOSTON — The nation’s defense and the Aroostook County economy would suffer catastrophically if Loring Air Force Base were to close, according to testimony Tuesday at a regional hearing of the Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

After a presentation by two retired Air Force generals on behalf of Loring, the three commission members appeared pleased.

“You have been awful good salesmen,” said Robert D. Stuart Jr., one of two commissioners scheduled to visit Loring on June 3.

“To close Loring is to deny ourselves our only strategic airfield in New England,” said retired Gen. Richard Goetze, a consultant hired by the Save Loring Committee.

“The strategic military reasons for locating Loring in Limestone in the 1950s and for keeping it in the 1970s are as valid today in the 1990s as they were then,” he said.

“The closing of Loring would have an indescribable devastating impact on people who are already long accustomed to hardship,” said Limestone businessman Paul Haines, chairman of the Save Loring Committee. “We Mainers, and specifically us denizens of `The County,’ do not ask for much.”

“Loring is an integral part of the social and economic fabric of the county and we are proud of the support that we have provided Loring personnel over the years,” Haines said.

If the county loses Loring’s contribution to its economic base — estimated at 19 percent — the question of whether “the complete hemorrhaging” of the county can be avoided will be raised, said Richard H. Silkman, director of the State Planning Office.

Scores of county residents, including the county’s entire legislative delegation, attended the Boston hearing sporting “Save Loring” signs, ribbons and buttons. As the hearing progressed, attendance in the Gardner Auditorium increased to standing room only.

Other speakers included Gov. John R. McKernan and House Speaker John L. Martin, D-Eagle Lake.

Supporters of the B-52 bomber base in northern Maine argued that the base has a mission in the national defense structure, that the Air Force was flawed in evaluating Loring and that a closure could mean the end of the county’s already fragile economy.

“Loring Air Force Base is a unique and irreplaceable national security asset, occupying a stragetically significant location at the northeastern most point in the United States,” said McKernan, in introducing the state’s Loring delegation.

The governor said that after the commission reviews the evidence, it “will conclude that the Air Force deviated substantially from the final criteria established by the Department of Defense in recommending to close Loring AFB.”

“Such a closure would be detrimental to the national defense,” said Goetze. “Closing Loring would be a serious breach of national security.”

Goetze, a retired Strategic Air Command war planner, said the base is closer to any potential confict area than any other New England air base. Goetze said that 70 percent of all trans-Atlantic military flights receive refueling services from Loring.

During the Persian Gulf War, 1,700 aircraft landed at Loring for either maintenance or fuel, he said.

A former commander of the 42nd Bombardment Wing at Loring, retired Gen. Stan Smith, said the base has undergone $300 million in renovations and new construction since the late 1970s when it was a candidate for closure because, Defense Department officials argued, its facilities were in poor condition. The base was spared due to the efforts of the state’s congressional delegation.

The Pentagon’s assertion that Loring’s current facilities are outdated was “grossly” misrepresented, Smith claimed.

Under questioning by commission member Arthur Leavitt Jr., Smith would not advocate closing another base instead of Loring.

Commissioner Stuart questioned Loring’s future role in light of its aging B-52 bomber fleet.

Goetze emphasized Loring’s role in refueling newer military aircraft. “The B-2 will eventually need refueling,” Goetze said, adding that regardless of aircraft, Loring’s location is paramount.

Silkman charged that the Air Force inflated the cost savings and failed to consider all the costs associated with closing Loring.

“Taking account of these corrected costs both to DOD and to other federal agencies reduces the Air Force savings estimates from closing Loring by 80 percent in the first year and by over 60 percent over 20 years,” said Silkman. “Instead of $67 million in the first year, savings will be only $13 million. Instead of $465 million over 20 years, savings will be less than $180 million,” he said.

Silkman said that because of Loring’s federal Superfund status, its future use is questionable.

Should the base close, enrollment in the Limestone school system would drop from 1,410 to 210.

“If Loring Air Force Base is closed, an already weakened economy will be devastated,” said House Speaker Martin. “There is no reasonable prospect for commercial reuse of Loring’s facilities, the base will be abandoned and the surrounding community decimated.”

The base commission, chaired by former Rep. James Courter, R-N.J., is winding up its national tour to discuss Defense Secretary Richard Cheney’s April 12 recommendations to close 31 major military bases nationwide. Four bases were the subject of Tuesday’s hearing.

The eight-member commission was appointed by Bush and confirmed by the Senate. Besides hearing public testimony on the proposed closings and realignments, it will conduct its own research and report to Bush by July 1.

Bush and Congress will either approve or reject the list in its entirety.