Having a BRAC attack in Maryland
The Press-inspired campaign to overturn the BRAC decision to close Fort Monmouth and transfer most of its operations to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland clearly has the powers that be down there biting their nails.
Today, the Baltimore Sun ran the following editorial, completing ignoring the facts behind the BRAC debacle, headlined, "Sore losers":
"New Jersey's representatives in Washington don't seem to understand that the battle over Fort Monmouth has been fought - and they lost.
"Two years after a special panel decided to close Fort Monmouth and transfer thousands of military and civilian jobs to Maryland, the congressional delegation from the Garden State is trying to stop the move. They have raised the specter of the war on terrorism in a desperate attempt to retain the base's high-tech mission and the lucrative contracting business that supports it. But undoing the 2005 decision of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would be a grave mistake; it would corrupt a process intended to be neutral and nonpartisan.
"Twice in the past, proposals to downsize and consolidate the country's military installations threatened Fort Monmouth's future. And twice, BRAC commissions either changed course or scaled back recommendations to transfer jobs from the fort. Base supporters in Fort Monmouth have the mistaken notion that they can dodge the BRAC bullet again.
"The New Jersey congressional delegation claims the decision to close Fort Monmouth was flawed and has asked for a Government Accountability Office investigation of the process - and wants dismantling of base operations postponed until the study is completed. That just won't do.
"But if a GAO study is necessary, it should be done quickly. Maryland is already investing in road improvements, mass transit expansion and housing development. Those plans should proceed.
"Fort Monmouth backers who complain that the anticipated retirement of experienced base workers will endanger military readiness underestimate the quality of Maryland's work force, one of the most highly educated in the country. The 90-year-old base may be an economic engine for the Jersey shore area, but its military value to the Army was ranked 50th out of 97 installations.
"Congress shouldn't bend to pressure to delay funding of the relocation; personnel aren't due to move until the Pentagon delivers a report to Congress on the base closure's impact on military preparedness. New Jersey lawmakers should recall the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. Despite a hard fight by Gen. George Washington's troops in 1778, the British escaped - it wasn't theirs to win."
A similar editorial, "State, federal leaders must back BRAC," ran Wednesday in Baltimore's other daily, the freebee Baltimore Examiner.
Today, the Baltimore Sun ran the following editorial, completing ignoring the facts behind the BRAC debacle, headlined, "Sore losers":
"New Jersey's representatives in Washington don't seem to understand that the battle over Fort Monmouth has been fought - and they lost.
"Two years after a special panel decided to close Fort Monmouth and transfer thousands of military and civilian jobs to Maryland, the congressional delegation from the Garden State is trying to stop the move. They have raised the specter of the war on terrorism in a desperate attempt to retain the base's high-tech mission and the lucrative contracting business that supports it. But undoing the 2005 decision of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would be a grave mistake; it would corrupt a process intended to be neutral and nonpartisan.
"Twice in the past, proposals to downsize and consolidate the country's military installations threatened Fort Monmouth's future. And twice, BRAC commissions either changed course or scaled back recommendations to transfer jobs from the fort. Base supporters in Fort Monmouth have the mistaken notion that they can dodge the BRAC bullet again.
"The New Jersey congressional delegation claims the decision to close Fort Monmouth was flawed and has asked for a Government Accountability Office investigation of the process - and wants dismantling of base operations postponed until the study is completed. That just won't do.
"But if a GAO study is necessary, it should be done quickly. Maryland is already investing in road improvements, mass transit expansion and housing development. Those plans should proceed.
"Fort Monmouth backers who complain that the anticipated retirement of experienced base workers will endanger military readiness underestimate the quality of Maryland's work force, one of the most highly educated in the country. The 90-year-old base may be an economic engine for the Jersey shore area, but its military value to the Army was ranked 50th out of 97 installations.
"Congress shouldn't bend to pressure to delay funding of the relocation; personnel aren't due to move until the Pentagon delivers a report to Congress on the base closure's impact on military preparedness. New Jersey lawmakers should recall the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. Despite a hard fight by Gen. George Washington's troops in 1778, the British escaped - it wasn't theirs to win."
A similar editorial, "State, federal leaders must back BRAC," ran Wednesday in Baltimore's other daily, the freebee Baltimore Examiner.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 10:00 AM
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