Moody Air Force Base tapped for possible closure

<p>Moody Air Force Base may not escape the Pentagon's ax list after all.</p><p>The 64-year-old base was spared from a list of proposed base closures in May. But on Tuesday, the commission charged with reviewing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's plan to restructure domestic military bases was to vote on whether to add about a dozen facilities to his list.</p><p>Moody Air Force Base was among the bases considered for the list.</p><p>The Valdosta base is home to F-16s, HC-130Ps, HH60G helicopters and A-10 aircraft. It also provides undergraduate training for Air Force pilots and has the only rescue wing in the Air Force.</p><p>It has a military personnel of about 3,700 and a civilian work force of 339, for a total annual payroll of $186 million.</p><p>"We certainly did breathe a sigh of relief when Moody was not on the initial list," said Myrna Ballard, president of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce. "But we never take Moody for granted. We didn't let up one inch because we weren't on the list. We must be ever vigilant."</p><p>Officials from the state Military Affairs Coordinating Committee, which prepared for the base closing list, did not immediately return calls Tuesday.</p><p>In Washington, Commission Chairman Anthony Principi tried to reassure communities that having a base on the second list may not be a bad thing. Some, including Moody, may be used for comparison purposes.</p><p>"It is not our intent to disrupt or to unreasonably target communities that may have breathed a sigh of relief in May when the secretary's list of recommendations was released, or to further burden communities already facing losses," Principi said.</p><p>Rather, he said, adding bases to the list would allow the commission to conduct public hearings, visit the sites and collect data to make direct comparisons with bases that perform similar missions and are slated for closure.</p><p>Four other Georgia bases were on the first list for possible closure. They are: Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem near Atlanta, a Naval Air Station in Marietta and the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens.</p>

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