Air reserve base survives another round of closings

Members of Operation: Save Our Airbase Reservists (SOAR) have earned the appreciation of the people of the Mahoning Valley for their hard work and determination to keep the Youngstown Air Reserve Base in Vienna Township off the federal base-closing list.
The list, developed by the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission, was approved by President Bush and survived a move in the House of Representatives to shelve it.
Thus, the Youngstown base has received another lease on life, just as it did 10 years ago. And while U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Reid Dulberger, co-chairman of Operation: SOAR and executive vice president of the Regional Chamber, are relieved and understandably pleased with the outcome, we would remind them of the posture adopted by Ryan's predecessor, Congressman James A. Traficant Jr.
The day after it became clear that the Youngstown base, which is home to the Air Force Reserve's 910th Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve and Marine and Navy units, would not be on the 1995 closing list, Traficant made it clear that the future of the facility was by no means forever secure.
The excongressman, who is now serving an eight-year sentence in federal prison for using his public office for private gain, contended that the only way to preserve the base was to first of all give it a mission that no other facility was providing, and second, to make it difficult to shut down because of the enormous amount of money invested in it by the Pentagon.
Traficant succeeded in accomplishing both those goals, but to the end he kept bringing in grants and other federal dollars for the base.
National budget deficit
Ryan and Dulberger are undoubtedly aware that while this year's round is over, there's always another year. After all, with the ballooning national budget deficit, the increasing cost of the military because of the war on global terrorism and the cost of emergencies brought on by hurricanes, earthquakes and now the Avian bird flu pandemic, the pressure on the federal budget is enormous.
Indeed, the savings derived from this year's military installation closings is $1.3billion less than what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had wanted when he announced the base-closing program. The Pentagon's original plan would have lopped off $5.5 billion, compared with $4.2 billion in savings from the plan developed by the BRAC.
Given the uncertain future of the country's military, we believe that pursuing Traficant's agenda for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station does make sense. In that regard, we would urge members of Operation: SOAR to at least meet occasionally to review where things stand and see if there is any assistance they can provide congressmen Ryan and Ted Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th, who was also active in the campaign to keep the base off the closing list.
The key is to know at all times what plans the Pentagon is working on for either the expansion of bases or the relocation of missions. With that information, Operation: SOAR, in conjunction with Ryan and Strickland, could develop strategies for ensuring that the Youngstown base is on somebody's radar screen in the Defense Department.
Given the importance of the facility to the Mahoning and Shenango valleys -- the base has 2,400 reservists, civilians and contractors in full-time or part-time positions and pumps more than $100 million into the region -- we cannot let our guard down.