Malmstrom BRAC
I've spent this day feeling pretty darn lucky. On a whim, I checked out some of the newspapers of towns that didn't fare so well. How would you like to wake up to this headline tomorrow morning? Or this one?
All of this discussion and pledges to fight gives rise to a couple thoughts. First, while we are probably going to lose the MANG F-16s, it sure could have been worse. The loss of Malmstrom AFB would devastate this community.
Second, all of the communities are going to "fight tooth and nail" to keep their bases. So, what if some of them win? Is Malmstrom really safe? In other words, if the BRAC committee rethinks Ellsworth and Grand Forks, maybe Malmstrom gets the ax? Look what happened to Paris Gibson Middle School.
Viewed in that light it seems especially fortunate if we can just survive with Malmstrom, doesn't it?
But, think like a negotiator. Maybe we need to gear up the fight for MANG, even if saving the fighter missions is unlikely. That way, we can 'lose' in the negotiations, and the committee can cut the baby in half by not giving us back what we already lost, the MANG fighter mission. But Malmstrom would be safe. Does that make sense?
All in all, though, you have to feel pretty good about our chances in a political fight. We have 2 out of 3 GOP, our Senators are senior, and Rehberg is somewhat of a White House favorite (even if he has a bad source).
Keep your fingers crossed.
2 comments:
Malmstrom has had millions of dollars of upgrades to their facilities and houses, not to mention the missile system - all with the help of Senator Burns from his key committees on Appropriations (Defense and Military Construction). The process to save Malmstrom did not just happen in the last few weeks or months, but years ago before Rehberg or Schweitzer were elected and before Max cared.
In regards to the F-16s, this was just the first round. Now, the politics and clout come into play -plus showing the BRAC Commission some common sense in regards to what Montana has to offer - clear skies, less population, military support, etc.
No offense, anonymous... but the millions of dollars in upgrades don't mean much. BRAC has shut down plenty of bases that had millions of dollars in upgrades. What saved Malmstrom AFB is the Minutemen missiles. And the fact that we need still need them. If we're going to get a flying mission here, the runway on Malmstrom needs to be fixed. How long has that been actively worked?
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