Defense plan unveiled
State would gain 1,088 jobs under Pentagon plan

RICHARD POWELSON
KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL
MAY 14, 2005

The Defense Department's proposed restructuring, announced Friday, would give Tennessee the 11th highest number of additional defense jobs, including 248 more at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base.

The additional McGhee Tyson jobs at Alcoa, a boost from about 1,700 authorized now, in part would support the addition of 12 newer-model refueling aircraft that would be transferred from four bases outside the state, according to U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr.'s office.

"This recommendation ... is a tremendous compliment to all the people at the air base," Duncan, a Knoxville Republican, said, "especially at a time when 33 major bases and several hundred smaller military facilities have been recommended for closure."

The Pentagon's list of potential bases to be closed, scaled down or expanded will be reviewed in hearings all summer by a nine-member independent commission.

A majority on the panel can delete or modify a proposed base change. But President Bush - and later Congress - will have to accept or reject the commission's final list without any amendments.

Tennessee as a whole would gain 1,088 jobs under the Pentagon plan. That does not count 351 personnel cuts suggested for Fort Campbell, which straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky border.

Hardest hit in Tennessee would be the Nashville Air National Guard Base, which would lose 191 employees and their related facilities and equipment.

The most-rewarded site in the state would be the Navy support facility in Millington, a Memphis suburb, which would gain 1,061 jobs.

A potential loser in East Tennessee would be the U.S. Army Reserve maintenance support facility in Kingsport, which could lose 32 jobs.

However, U.S. Rep. Bill Jenkins, a Rogersville Republican, said an initial Pentagon report suggests closing an old facility and using a newer facility nearby in Kingsport. He said it is unclear at this point if the change ultimately would affect the area's staffing, so he is seeking more information.

The McGhee Tyson air base currently flies eight KC-135E refueling tankers and one backup tanker, Duncan aide Matt Lehigh said after a military briefing. Another six of the old "E" models are stored at the base but are not used, he said.

Bringing in the 12 newer "R" models would more than double the operating fleet. McGhee Tyson has no "R" models now, Lehigh said. The KC-135R has quieter, more fuel-efficient engines than an "E" model.

A McGhee Tyson base spokesman did not return calls.

The state's Democratic governor, Phil Bredesen, and two Republican U.S. senators, Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander, agreed that the state as a whole received mixed news in the Pentagon's list.

"While we are pleased with parts of the report," Bredesen said in a statement, "we have real concerns about any recommendations to reduce troop strength in Tennessee."

Frist said he is concerned about the impact of the recommendations on Nashville's and Kingsport's "outstanding facilities and superb personnel." He said he would work to be sure their facilities and staffs are treated fairly by the commission.

Alexander said it would be troubling if units in Nashville and Kingsport are closed or greatly reduced. "I'll be working ... to ensure the commission understands their value both to Tennessee and the military."

But Alexander said he was pleased that the Defense Department reaffirmed the "critical role" of the McGhee Tyson, Millington and Fort Campbell bases.

The Pentagon proposed a net reduction of 351 employees at Fort Campbell, near Clarksville, Tenn., and in part of Kentucky. But that does not count the nearly 2,500 additional personnel moved there as a brigade earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, a Brentwood Republican, said.

The Tennessee National Guard headquarters was "extremely disappointed" that the Pentagon suggested cutting nearly 200 personnel at Nashville's Berry Field and within the 118th Airlift Wing. The state Guard would see a net gain of 65 in the Pentagon plan.

Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, the Tennessee National Guard's top officer, said he and the governor "are going to do everything in our power" to ensure that current Air National Guard planes and personnel remain in Nashville.