GRANHOLM - Granholm, Task Force to Make Case in Washington for Michigan's Military Facilities

LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and co-chairs of the Governor’s Task Force to Protect Michigan’s Military Facilities will be in Washington, D.C. Wednesday to support efforts of the Michigan congressional delegation to prevent the closure of Michigan military facilities and the loss of thousands of jobs.

Wednesday’s visit to the nation’s capital follows the March 7 meeting with Department of Defense (DOD) officials regarding facilities in Macomb County targeted for closure or realignment. That meeting was attended by task force members Major General Bruce MacDonald (Ret.), a principal in Liebler MacDonald LLC; and Joe Dolan, Michigan national representative, American Federation of Government Employees, and local representatives.

“I commend our task force members and representatives from communities affected by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process for all their hard work to ensure the continued operation of the bases in our state,” Granholm said. “Not only are these installations vital to our homeland security, they are vital to our economic security by employing thousands of Michigan residents.”

Michigan facilities being evaluated as part of the BRAC process include: Defense Logistics Information Service (DLIS)/Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center, Battle Creek; W.K. Kellogg Field/110th Fighter Wing Division Air National Guard, Battle Creek; Fort Custer Army National Guard Base, Battle Creek; Army's Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM), Warren; and Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Mt. Clemens.

Granholm and task force co-chairs Brigadier General Robert Mansfield, Jr. (Ret.), former commander for the reutilization and marketing service at the Defense Logistics Agency in Battle Creek, and Robert Truxtell, former vice president of the land systems division of General Dynamics, will meet with DOD officials regarding those bases affected in Battle Creek.

Combined, the military facilities account for 7,015 direct jobs and another 5,200 military personnel who are housed and/or trained at these sites. That does not include those jobs that are spun off in the communities and industries that these facilities cover.

“We will continue to do everything in our power to help Michigan’s congressional delegation fight to keep Michigan bases open,” said Michigan BRAC Taskforce Co-Chair Robert Mansfield. “We know that when bases close, communities are devastated, so we are determined to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

On May 16, 2005, a list of installations recommended for closure or realignment in the BRAC process will be published. After presidential review in the fall of 2005, the process must be completed and voted on by Congress no later than April 15, 2006.

BRAC 2005’s expected closures will be equivalent to the total of four prior base closure rounds in the 1980s and 1990s combined, which resulted in significant losses for Michigan, including the closing of Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Iosco County, K.I. Sawyer Air Force base in Marquette County, and the Warren Tank Arsenal in Warren.

While in the nation’s capital, Granholm will meet with the Michigan congressional delegation and with Department of Energy (DOE) officials to discuss the DOE’s science funding and Michigan’s intense support for locating the Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) at Michigan State University.

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