Barbour: Every base a target
By By Buddy Bynum / editor
Jan. 11, 2004
Gov.-elect Haley Barbour said Saturday he is operating under the assumption that every military base in Mississippi is a potential target of the 2005 round of base closures.
In an interview prior to a pre-inaugural reception in Meridian, Barbour also indicated he would like to see funding for base protection efforts returned to the governor's office.
For the first time, the Meridian-based 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard is on a list of potential closures, as are other Guard units.
The Defense Department has announced plans to close possibly up to 25 percent of the bases across the country. No military facilities in Mississippi have been closed in three previous rounds of what is commonly referred to as BRAC, or base realignment and closure.
Military bases located in the state provide more than 36,000 military and civilian jobs and an economic impact upwards of $1.4 billion.
One of the difficulties is the nature of the bases' military missions.
Florida was a controversial battleground in the 2000 presidential election, with Bush winning a narrow victory and the presidency only after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that determined which Florida ballots could be counted. President Bush is seeking re-election this year and Florida may again loom crucial to his chances.
The state's efforts to fight base closures have been coordinated by the Mississippi Military Communities Council. Funding, which had been routed through the governor-controlled Mississippi Development Authority since former Gov. Kirk Fordice created the council a decade ago, currently flows through the Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning. It was put there after Gov. Ronnie Musgrove fired the state's longtime base closure consultant, Barry Rhoads, and replaced him with one of his political cronies.
Rhoads' contract was reinstated when the Legislature re-routed the money at the council's request through IHL.
Barbour said he's met with Rhoads three times since his election and has confidence in the Washington-based consultant's work to protect military bases.
