BRUNSWICK – The Pentagon has a clear picture of Brunswick Naval Air Station’s homeland defense capabilities and recognizes the importance of its proposed joint reserve center, an assistant secretary of defense said Monday.

“We need to ensure that when we go to war, it’s not as individual components but as a nation. Because we fight as a team, we should train as a team,” said Paul McHale, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense.

McHale accompanied Gov. John Baldacci, members of Maine’s congressional delegation and officials from the Maine National Guard, Air National Guard and Marine Reserves during Monday’s visit to Brunswick and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

While McHale did not discuss what military installations could survive this round of cuts, he said the P-3 Orions flown from Brunswick “clearly have importance in the homeland defense mission.” He stressed, however, that his intent on visiting the base was to gather information for Pentagon officials.

Brunswick and the Navy’s shipyard in Kittery face possible closure this year.

McHale, standing alongside Baldacci and New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch at a brief news conference after his visit to the shipyard, emphasized that Portsmouth was not being singled out in the base-closing process.

“I want to stress there’s no reason to believe at this point that there’s any undue focus on the shipyard. The shipyard has not been highlighted for any kind of BRAC activity,” said McHale, referring to the base-closing process, Base Realignment and Closure.

That process is one reflection of the Pentagon’s changing priorities at a time when threats no longer come from Cold War-style enemies, a reality acknowledged by McHale.

“There is no question that we have excess infrastructure,” he said. “What we need to do is close some of those facilities so that the capital that is then saved … can instead go into war-fighting capabilities.”

McHale praised the efforts of officials from Maine and New Hampshire for making the case for the shipyard, a major employer in parts of New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts with more than 4,000 civilian employees.

“The political leadership of Maine and New Hampshire wanted to be proactive,” he said.

McHale’s visit to the two states came just days before President Bush is scheduled to announce the remaining members of a nine-member independent commission charged with reviewing a list of U.S. military base closures the Pentagon must propose by May.

During McHale’s visit to Brunswick Naval Air Station, military officials touted the multitude of uses for a proposed Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center. Adjutant Gen. John Libby, commander of the Maine National Guard, said construction of the nearly $42 million building could begin in 2008.

The center has been a major component of community arguments to save the base, said Rick Tetrev, spokesman for the Brunswick Naval Air Station Task Force, which is working to save the base.

Tetrev said having a ranking Pentagon official acknowledge the benefit the base serves in defending the homeland is powerful.

“Hopefully, he’ll take that message back to Washington,” Tetrev said.