Valley must remain vigilant in preserving reserve base

"Good things happen when everyone works together."
So said Congressman Tim Ryan as he announced Friday to the Mahoning Valley that the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna Township is not on the Pentagon's base-closing list.
Ryan's comment should be etched in stone because it is true -- as demonstrated by the Valleywide campaign to keep the base off the list, and the effort a couple of years ago to persuade General Motors Corp. to build its new generation of compact cars at its Lordstown facility.
Yes, good things do happen when political and community leaders, labor union chiefs and management higher-ups join hands in a common cause.
Congressman Ryan of Niles, D-17th, is to be commended for picking up where his predecessor, James A. Traficant Jr., left off with regard to the air reserve station. He made keeping it intact his top priority. As we've noted in the past, Traficant, for all his faults, must be given credit for guiding the expansion of the base by securing millions of federal dollars.
Traficant, who is serving an eight-year prison sentence for using his public position for personal gain, not only facilitated major construction projects during his tenure in the House, but increased the importance of the base by transforming the 910th Air Force Reserve unit into a wing. He did that by persuading the Pentagon to increase the number of C-130 transport planes stationed in the Valley.
The mission
Thus today, the Youngstown Air Reserve Station is home to the 910th Airlift Wing, the largest reserve-owned C-130 unit with 12 aircraft. It trains Air Force reservists, provides airlift of airborne forces, equipment and supplies, delivers forces and materials by airdrop or land, and aerially applies pesticides, herbicides and oil dispersant agents as the defense department's only full-time, fixed-wing aerial spray capability.
The 910th Wing also participates in joint service exercises supporting active duty forces in airborne training, operates facilities supporting Naval and Marine Corps reservists and other federal agencies and assists military and other federal government air traffic to the region.
The station has consistently received top marks from the Defense Department, and during the last round of closings several years ago was praised by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission for giving the federal government such a good return on its investment.
As we said in February, if the evaluation by the Defense Department and this year's base closing commission were made on purely objective criteria, the Youngstown base would not even be on the Bush administration's radar screen.
We're pleased to see that Pentagon did, in fact, apply objective criteria in concluding that the facility should not only remain open, but its mission be expanded to include an airborne medical unit.
However, it is important for the people of the Mahoning Valley to realize that last week's announcement is just the first round of what is sure to be a contentious national political battle.
Senators and representatives whose states and congressional districts received bad news have vowed to fight to the bitter end. In such a fight, politics will come into play -- unless members of the base closing commission, President Bush and the Republican leaders in the House and Senate pledge that they will only use the analytical data provided by the Pentagon to guide them.
The former commander of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Michael F. Gjede, who is serving as executive director of Operation: Save Our Airbase Reservists (SOAR), the region's grass-roots campaign, said Friday there would be no let up in the battle to keep the facility intact. Area politicians and community leaders should continue working with Gjede and Reid Dulberger of the Youngstown Area Regional Chamber in developing strategies for ensuring that the Pentagon's decision stands and that the base continues to expand physically and mission-wise.
Flying colors
As Dulberger noted last week, in the previous round of base closings, officials in Pennsylvania successfully argued that the analysis done on the C-130 base in Pittsburgh was flawed and that all such facilities should be evaluated on the same basis. As a result of that argument, the Youngstown station was added to the list by the base closing commission. It subsequently passed with flying colors.
For this reason, we believe the Valley would be better served by viewing last week's announcement as dodging the bullet, rather than winning the war. There could be other bullets directed at us, which is why we need to muster all the political strength possible.
Republican Gov. Bob Taft and U.S. Sens. Mike DeWine and George V. Voinovich, both Republicans, have publicly pledged their support for the Youngstown base. A public reiteration of that support is necessary.
Likewise, Youngstown's Democratic Mayor George M. McKelvey, who made national news during last year's presidential election when he endorsed Bush, should contact his "friend" in the White House and remind him of the importance of the base to the Valley's economy.
McKelvey, in justifying his support for the president, said he made it clear to administration officials that the preservation of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station was his top priority.
While politics was not a factor in the Pentagon's decision -- if it were, the Pittsburgh base would not be on the list, seeing as how Republican Sen. Rick Santorum is one of the most influential members of Congress -- it could come into play in the next several months.