by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Jacksonville’s military bases will have to display high levels of operational readiness and adaptability to survive the 2005 round of base closures, according to a list of criteria received by the City last week.
The memo circulating around City Hall’s fourth floor is only a draft, but City planners don’t expect much to change when the final version is released by Feb. 16. The mayor’s military liaison, Daniel McCarthy said in an e–mail to his boss that he would immediately start work on a paper framing the City’s military capabilities in the context of the defense department criteria.
Mayor John Peyton has made preserving the area’s four bases — Mayport Naval Station, Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Blount Island Command and the Naval Aviation Depot Jacksonville — a priority. A recently released University of West Florida study showed the defense industry pouring more than $115 million in tax revenue into the Duval County economy last year. Defense spending helped sustain more than 135,000 jobs in the county.
Since Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld proposed earlier this year a more streamlined, adaptable armed forces, City planners like McCarthy have anticipated that the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process would reward versatility. According to the draft, current and future operational readiness will be the primary consideration followed, in order, by: The availability and condition of land, the ability to adjust to contingency demands and the cost of operations and manpower.
McCarthy told the mayor that the list contained “no surprises.” Mayor’s office spokesperson Heather Murphy said the City had prepared in anticipation of similar criteria.
“It was essentially what we were expecting,” said Murphy. “This is certainly what we’ve had in mind as we’ve prepared for the upcoming BRAC process; not just at our level but in the governor’s office as well.”
McCarthy said the list’s release “officially begins the 2005 BRAC evaluation. The Pentagon will likely begin 15 months of gathering and analyzing data in February. Following that period the defense department will put together the recommended base closure list.
Of secondary consideration will be the bases’ economic impact on their surrounding communities. Jacksonville should score well on that evaluation.
The UWF study showed a $44 billion impact statewide from defense spending. That number represents about 10 percent of Florida’s gross state product. The effects of those funds are felt disproportionately in North Florida. The Northeast region, which includes Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties, receives nearly $4 billion in spending and employs a quarter of the State’s defense–related employees.
Although economic impact will be a secondary consideration, Murphy said the military’s financial impact in Duval County created a unique relationship between the bases and the surrounding communities. The commanders know they have an advocate in City Hall, and soldiers and sailors know the community also supports them. The county’s relatively low unemployment means spouses can find jobs and the weather and nearby beaches contribute to a better quality of life.
“The military is a critical piece of our economy,” said Murphy. “But it goes further than that; they are an integral part of our community as well, and that’s why it’s so important that we do everything we can to ensure our bases stay here.”
Keeping area bases off the chopping block could lead to an even greater future impact. Fewer bases nationwide and regionally means surviving bases promise to be busier; hiring and spending more. The UNF study predicts the military contribution to Northeast Florida’s economy will more than double to $9.8 billion by 2010. Over the next eight years, the defense industry is predicted to spend $80.6 billion regionally.