There was a battleship-sized sigh of relief in Everett early this morning as local leaders learned Naval Station Everett and other Puget Sound-area installations are not the Pentagon’s list of military bases to be closed.
Naval Station Everett and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station are not on the Pentagon’s list of military bases considered for closure, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., said early Friday.
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United States Department of Defense Base Realignment and Closure List |
“The list is out. And Naval Station Everett is not only the sailor’s choice, it’s the Pentagon’s choice for the future of the Navy,” Larsen said.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will release his much anticipated base-closure list at a Pentagon briefing in Washington, D.C. early Friday.
The list will now go to a special base-closure commission for review. The commission will then present the list to President Bush, who will eventually accept or reject the list.
Whidbey Island Naval Air Station will actually grow if Rumsfeld’s recommendations are adopted.
“Naval Air Station Whidbey Island is going to gain about 139 additional people,” Larsen said.
Larsen’s office is reviewing Rumsfeld’s recommendation package to determine what military installation will lose those workers.
The list also recommends closing the Army Reserve Center in Everett, if the Army can find land to build a new facility in the Everett area. National Guard troops from Everett and Snohomish would move to the new reserve center if Washington state agrees to relocate those troops.
The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process is the fifth since 1988.
Earlier rounds have seen 97 major installations close, plus changes to the missions of 290 other military bases.
Still, today’s news was not unexpected.
Those who have been following the 2005 base-closure process – and working to keep Washington installations from being listed – had previously predicted that Naval Station Everett and Whidbey Island Naval Air Station were too critical to the nation’s defense to be on the list.
Navy supporters in Snohomish County have been working for more than two years to keep Naval Station Everett off the list.
The stakes are high to keep the installation in operation.
With approximately 6,300 civilian and military employees, the Navy base is the county’s second-largest employer after The Boeing Company. It’s been estimated that Naval Station Everett and the military payroll in Snohomish County pumped $431 million into the local economy in 2003.
Marian Krell, president of the Everett City Council, praised the efforts of those who have worked for more than two years to keep Naval Station Everett off the base-closure list.
“We feel like this is just the beginning of more good things for Everett,” she said.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled. I think our community has made its case,” said Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson.
“We clearly have communicated the message that this base is uniquely positioned strategically,” he said. “It’s a cost-effective base. Environmentally, it is state of the art.”
Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall said those who have been working to keep Naval Station Everett safe from cuts will continue to tout the installation’s strategic importance. The Navy base is important to Marysville because approximately 45 percent of the families of sailors who serve at Naval Station Everett live in the Marysville area.
“This is a critical first step,” Stephanson agreed. “But until the president finally signs off on this in September, it’s not done.”
Military installations in Washington state were not entirely spared.
The list includes the loss of approximately 250 workers, most at reserve centers.
All told, the state will have a net gain of 760 military and civilian workers, Larsen said.
Washington military base changes
Richard H. Walker U.S. Army Reserve Center, Spokane Valley: Closing, loss of 38 military jobs.
Army National Guard Reserve Center Everett: Closing, loss of 57 military jobs.
Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center Tacoma: Closing, loss of 20 military jobs.
U.S. Army Reserve Center Fort Lawton: Closing, loss of 53 military and 54 civilian jobs.
Vancouver Barracks: Closing, loss of 29 military and 16 civilian jobs.
Fort Lewis: Gaining 187 military and 46 civilian jobs, offset by losing 2 military and 1 civilian jobs, net gain of 185 military and 45 civilian jobs.
Human Resources Support Center Northwest: Gaining 23 civilian jobs.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island: Losing 34 military jobs but gaining 173 civilian positions.
Naval Station Bremerton: Gaining 1,401 civilian jobs. No military losses or gains.
Fairchild Air Force Base: Realignment, losing 26 military and 172 civilian jobs.
McChord Air Force Base: Realignment, losing 460 military and 143 civilian jobs, offset by gains of 36 military and seven civilian positions, for a net loss of 424 military and 136 civilian jobs.
Submarine Base Bangor: Realignment, loss of one civilian job.
State total: Direct job losses, 719 military, 387 civilian; direct job gains, 223 military, 1,650 civilian; net loss of 496 military jobs and net gain of 1,263 civilian; 767 jobs gained overall.
Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.
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