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WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) delivered the following testimony at a meeting today of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in Charlotte, N.C. Spratt's Fifth Congressional District of South Carolina includes Shaw Air Force Base, near Sumter.  Shaw was not on the Pentagon's base closure list.

Members of the Commission, thank you for allowing me to testify about the impact of base closure and re-alignment on my state. Having served in Congress and on the House Armed Services Committee for 22 years, I have been through this process four times, and I understand the task that you have taken on.

The State of South Carolina suffered major losses in previous rounds. In 1991, the Air Force shut down Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. In 1995, the Navy closed the Charleston Naval Base. The bases that remain have withstood the Pentagon's scrutiny five times, which is a testament to their importance.

I represent the Fifth Congressional District of South Carolina, and I am proud to say, that includes Shaw Air Force Base, home of the nation's largest combat F-16 wing. The Department of Defense (DoD) proposes additions to Shaw that are welcome but no surprise. Shaw hosts the Headquarters of 9 th Air Force, and CENTAF, the Air Force component of Central Command, which puts it in the thick of the most dangerous theater in which our forces are engaged. Shaw also hosts the 20 th Fighter Wing, which has three F-16 squadrons, possessing 40 percent of the Air Force's capacity for suppressing enemy air defenses.

Air superiority is the first mission of the Air Force, and the 20 th Fighter Wing plays a critical part in this mission. Shaw's F-16s and 2,700 troops were among the first to deploy to Desert Storm. After the war, they flew rotations in Northern Watch and Southern Watch. They deployed to Aviano for operations over the former republic of Yugoslavia , and then to Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan . They flew combat patrols up and down the Eastern Seaboard in the aftermath of September 11. In February 2003, Shaw deployed some 1,300 service members and 15 F-16s in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The men and women of Shaw Air Force Base stay ready for combat because they enjoy some of the best training opportunities in the country. Just minutes to the east, they find themselves over the ocean; a few minutes more to the west, and they are approaching the mountains. Closer by, F-16s taking off from one of Shaw's two runways are barely “wheels-up” before they are over Poinsett Range, the nation's premier SEAD and DEAD training range, where electronic emitters simulate enemy air defenses. Last year, we obtained funding for Joint Threat Emitters at Poinsett, state-of-the-art training simulators, the most modern available. We are working now with the Air Force to link Poinsett with nearby Gamecock and Bulldog military operating areas, which will increase the breadth and diversity of training missions available to Shaw's pilots, and others as well.

On base, Shaw's facilities are among the most modern in the Air Force. In the last five years alone, we have built a new enlisted dining facility at a cost of $5.2 million; a new education center at a cost of $5.8 million; new aircraft maintenance facilities at a cost of $6.8 million; a new deployment processing center at a cost of $8.5 million; new or renovated housing every year; and $2.5 million for new simulators, hardware, and software at Poinsett Range. We have essentially rebuilt the base from top-to-bottom since the early eighties, equipping it well for future missions.

These improvements make Shaw a natural fit for the 3 rd Army Headquarters, which the Pentagon proposes to re-align from Fort McPherson . The current round of re-alignments is supposed to be aimed at “jointness.” General Jumper describes the relocation of the Third Army Headquarters to Shaw as the perfect example of jointness, locating air and land components of Central Command side-by-side, ensuring easier, more effective interaction. Shaw has room to expand and a site already selected for 3 rd Army Headquarters.

One final point you may not find in your data calls – the relationship between Shaw and Sumter. It has to rank among the strongest in the Air Force. It manifests itself in multiple ways: favorable zoning, affordable housing, accessible highways, public education, and hundreds of personal relationships. The people of Sumter know what Shaw means to them, and they bend over backwards to accommodate the base in their community.

I appreciate the gravity of your work and hope that my brief comments give you a more vivid idea of Shaw Air Force Base and its host community, Sumter , South Carolina . Shaw has stood the Pentagon's scrutiny five times for good reason, and those same reasons have led the Pentagon to strengthen “jointness” in one of its most important commands and put 3 rd Army Headquarters here. I urge you to affirm the Pentagon's recommendations in your final submission to the President.

The one area of South Carolina hit hard by the Pentagon's recommendation this time round is the Charleston Naval Complex, which also has proven its military value over time. The Charleston community has assembled some compelling recommendations for their facilities, and I hope that your Commission will give them the consideration they are due.

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