Group touts mission, facilities in effort to keep the base open

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
VIENNA -- The Youngstown Air Reserve Station is starting from a good position in its effort to survive a Department of Defense round of base closings, a local development leader says.
The Air Force Reserve's 910th Airlift Wing, stationed at the Vienna facility along with Naval and Marine Corps Reserve units, appears to meet the general 2005 Base Realignment and Closure military criteria published by DOD, said Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.
The criteria include mission capabilities, availability of space for training and to house other military units, and cost efficiency.
Dulberger is also co-chairman of the Save Our Airbase Reservists committee, along with David Hamilton, president of the Trumbull 100 and Warren Concrete Co.
Dulberger said the 910th has a unique mission as the only fixed wing aerial spraying unit, with training for reservists and facilities and equipment that do not exist anywhere else.
Runway
The air base and the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport have both been substantially improved in recent years. Dulberger said the military built its own 3,000-foot runway on which to train, and the main runway at regional airport was lengthened from 7,500 to 9,000 feet.
"We think we have a great facility, a unit with a unique mission, and a unit that typically scores high in DOD ratings. Also, we know we have the ability to expand the base if DOD decides other functions should be located here," Dulberger said.
He said the 2005 criteria are very similar to those used in the 1995 BRAC round, and the same as those released in a preliminary draft released last year.
It also represents what the Pentagon has been signaling for many months: The focus is on military values, the ability for combining units, and economic efficiency, Dulberger said.
Spreading the word
He said SOAR is in the process of doing several things simultaneously in an effort to make sure the Youngstown Air Reserve Station is not included in the 25 percent of all military facilities that officials believe BRAC will order closed.
SOAR received a $190,100 grant from the State Controlling Board with which to market the base during the BRAC 2005 process. SOAR is attempting to raise more money in the community to be used for public awareness and possibly to hire expert help for its campaign.
SOAR is talking to experts in the field who have a handle on the criteria being used to evaluate bases, and how the Youngstown Air Reserve Station measures up against other bases.
"It is important that SOAR communicate importance of this facility to the community and to the decision makers in the Washington. We don't want there to be silence in the Mahoning Valley," Dulberger said.
To that end, legislators from both Ohio and Pennsylvania are working together to keep the base operating, he said.
Addressing weaknesses
Dulberger said that SOAR will not be able to see the specific criteria used by BRAC ahead of time. But, he said, "We have seen the 1995 criteria, and expect them to be somewhat similar."
SOAR will make its own air base evaluation, based on the criteria, and try to address any weaknesses it might find.
The Pentagon collects data and makes recommendations to BRAC. The commission comes up with a list for closure and realignment. Then, it goes to the president, who forwards it to Congress for an "up or down vote." Congress does not have the ability to amend the list at that point, Dulberger said.
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