Pa. nervous about closings

State officials fear the War College could be closed or realigned.
CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) -- Far from the regimen of the Pentagon and the fighting in Iraq, the nation's top military leaders find a peaceful place to study at the U.S. Army War College and its Ivy League-like grounds.
They learn war tactics and get leadership training in the college's quaint stone buildings, located at a military installation that dates to the Revolutionary War era.
But even with the college's rich history and illustrious roster of graduates like retired Gens. Tommy Franks and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, its continued presence in Pennsylvania is believed to be in jeopardy as the Pentagon prepares for its fifth round of base closings since 1988.
Based here in central Pennsylvania for more than 50 years, the War College is considered vulnerable to relocation to a larger Army post because of its small size. Its home is the 500-acre Carlisle Barracks, and it costs nearly $50 million a year to operate while serving only about 300 residential students.
Other military communities in the state are also nervously awaiting an expected announcement this coming week on closures. The Pentagon, which wants to save billions by streamlining operations, is required to make its recommendations to a nine-member base realignment commission by May 16.
In western Pennsylvania, there are fears that the 171st Air Refueling Wing, the 99th Regional Ready Command and 911th Airlift Wing could be lost or consolidated. And in Philadelphia, leaders are worried about the future of the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base and its 5,680 employees.
State hit hard before
In the past four base closures, the last a decade ago, the state lost 16,500 jobs. Philadelphia was the hardest hit, with the closure of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard as a result of the 1991 decisions.
Pennsylvania has no active duty military installations, but its 11 military installations still employ more than 60,000.
The governor's office is not identifying any of the Pennsylvania installations as feared targets.
"We're concerned about every single one of them," said Adrian King Jr., deputy to Gov. Ed Rendell.
But other state and local leaders are particularly worried that Pennsylvania will lose the War College, which employs more than 1,600.
"I know they're looking at it," said U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Blair, whose district encompasses most of Carlisle Barracks.
The barracks is also home to a commissary, health clinics and an Army heritage center; it became an American military post in the 1770s.
The War College typically has about 600 students, mostly colonels or lieutenant colonels in the Army or the equivalent in other branches. Half participate in a two-year program primarily on the Internet, and others participate in a 10-month course on campus. Its student body includes officers from other countries.
"I think everyone is concerned about the War College because there have been indications that the Army wants to consolidate its officer training programs in one location," King said.
King said it's feared the college could be moved to the Washington, D.C., area or returned to Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Fort Leavenworth is the location of the U.S. Army Command & amp; General Staff College, which trains midlevel officers, as well as other organizations involved in leadership development.
Students say the beauty of the surroundings and the friendliness of the community adds to the school's attraction. It is close enough to the Pentagon to attract VIP guests, but also far enough away to allow students to focus on their studies.
"It's great because of the environment, the setting, the school. You take a year to read, to study and basically think about our profession," said Army Lt. Col. Tim Gorrell, 47. "You can bounce off ideas with people of different backgrounds, and it really solidifies what you are being exposed to here."
Added support
As a show of support, Cumberland County donated a $2.5 million parcel of land to the Army at Carlisle Barracks to build the Army Heritage Center, and is also committed to contributing an equal amount of funding. The state also donated $12 million to the center, which educates the public about Army history.
The county executive, John Connelly, said students and faculty contribute an estimated $120 million to the local economy.
Connelly said losing Carlisle Barracks would be a psychological blow to the state because of its prestige, and hurt veterans and military families who receive medical care there or use the commissary.
"I would just hope that real consideration would be given to the tradition and the economic factors, where people are biting their nails in Pennsylvania as to what's going to happen next, after we've had so many closures," Republican Sen. Arlen Specter told Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld during an April 27 congressional hearing.
Deadline
The base closure commission must report its decisions to the president by Sept. 8, and the decisions become law 45 days later unless Congress enacts a joint resolution rejecting them; it can reject them in whole but not in part.
Specter said he knows firsthand how difficult it is to reverse a decision.
"I think the state's been treated unfairly in the past, and frankly I'm madder than hell about it," he said.
Loren Thompson, a military expert at the Lexington Institute, a think tank in Arlington, Va., said he believes the expenses involved in moving the college and its international reputation weigh against its relocation.
"There's an intangible quality difficult to measure which can be easily destroyed. What makes Harvard Harvard? It's the same with the War College ... You don't destroy something like that without thinking twice."
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