Georgia base gains mean boost, especially to Columbus, St. Marys

<p>For Susan Chriss, the significance of the Pentagon's announcement was easy to figure out: plans for nearly 10,000 new troops at nearby Fort Benning means she stands to sell more fatigues, backpack kits and other gear at her military surplus shop.</p><p>"We're excited," said Chriss, co-owner of Commando Military Supply near Fort Benning's gates. "It will be wonderful for us and wonderful for all the businesses here."</p><p>Chriss is not alone in the state. Despite the proposed shutdown of four bases, Georgia was one of the nation's big winners on the list of proposed base closures and realignments revealed Friday.</p><p>With a net gain of 7,000 military jobs _ if the plan is approved by the President and Congress _ Georgia would enjoy the nation's second-biggest increase in defense personnel, behind only Maryland.</p><p>Even while vowing to fight for Georgia's four targeted bases _ Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Fort Gillem in Forest Park, the Naval Air Station-Atlanta in Marietta and the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens _ Gov. Sonny Perdue noted that Georgia was "the second net gainer of jobs and missions in the country."</p><p>"We're very proud of that," he said. Fort Benning is responsible for most of that gain.</p><p>The post on the Alabama state line is slated to add 9,221 troops and 618 civilian workers _ the third-largest gain of any military installation in the country.</p><p>Much of the increase would come from the addition of a tank center and training school now at Fort Knox in Kentucky.</p><p>"This is a big mission," said Fort Benning commander Brig. Gen. Benjamin Freakley. "Our schools, our downtown housing, our service providers will feel a significant increase in the coming years."</p><p>The Pentagon estimated that Fort Benning's growth would translate into 13,828 new jobs in the Columbus area, an 8.5 percent increase in the local economy.</p><p>Freakley credited his post's sprawling 184,000 acres, strong record on issues from readiness to environmental stewardship, and strong community support for the gains.</p><p>"We have wonderful communities that surround us that give us great support," Freakley said.</p><p>According to the Pentagon's economic-impact analysis, the nation's biggest winner would be St. Marys, Ga. Many of the attack submarines now based in New London, Conn., would be moved to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, near St. Marys, under the base realignment plan.</p><p>King's Bay, which currently employs about 8,000, looks to gain 3,367 new jobs _ more than a 40 percent increase. The Pentagon also estimates that nearby St. Marys stands to gain 5,034 jobs, a 21.9 percent increase in the local economy.</p><p>A King's Bay spokesman, Ed Buczek, said the base would gain a submarine school for sailors right out of boot camp, an intermediate repair facility, and a portion of New London's fast-attack submarine squadron.</p><p>"It's very positive news for King's Bay," Buczek said. "This is only the first step of the process and things can change, so we have to proceed with caution."</p><p>The addition would vastly expand the mission for King's Bay, which is the East coast base for the Navy's nuclear weapons carrying submarines.</p><p>New jobs also are proposed for three other Georgia bases, but not nearly as many as Fort Benning and King's Bay.</p><p>Robins Air Force Base near Warner Robins is recommended to net 749 new jobs _ all contractors; Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta, Ga., is set to net 575 _ all military; and the Marines Corps Logistics Base in Albany is planned to see a net gain of 150 jobs _ all civilian.</p><p>Despite the positive news, the possibility that four of the state's 13 military bases would close makes the process bittersweet for the state. Only one Georgia installation _ Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta _ had been targeted by the Pentagon in its previous three rounds of post-Cold War base closings. It was on the list in 1991 and 1993, and both times it was spared by the independent commission that passes final judgment on the Pentagon's lists.</p><p>Georgia's leaders must now embark upon a delicate balancing act _ pushing for the four targeted bases to remain open while not hurting the prospects of those installations that stand to gain big.</p><p>"It's difficult to say what your chances are relative to whether or not you can be successful," said U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. "But I do know this, the chances of us being able to make a strong case relative to the criteria the base closure commission's going to look at is very, very good."</p>

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