The last BRAC? Panel chairman says he doesn't foresee another round for at least 10 years

By: MARK WALKER - Staff Writer | Saturday, August 6, 2005 6:27 AM PDT ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- This may be the last hurrah for the nationwide base closure and realignment process, according to the chairman of the panel overseeing reductions in the number of military facilities.

Rancho Santa Fe native Anthony Principi said Friday there may never be a repeat of the process known as BRAC that involves the Pentagon, the president, Congress and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission he heads.

"I don't know if we will ever see another BRAC," Principi said following a news conference conducted in the shadow of the USS Midway along the downtown San Diego waterfront. "It's a tough, tough issue. There certainly won't be one for at least the next 10 years, and possibly not at all."

Whether another round of base closures is ever conducted after the current round, the nation's fifth and first since 1995, is ultimately up to a future Congress and president.

Principi made his comments after he and three other panel commissioners toured the 83-year-old U.S. Navy Broadway Complex across the street from the historic Midway aircraft carrier, now a floating museum.

A former secretary of Veterans Affairs, Principi was tapped by President Bush earlier this year to head up an ongoing round of base closures and realignments. He was in San Diego to get a first-hand look at the Broadway Complex, home to the Navy's Southwest regional administrative offices.

Last month, the commission voted 8-1 to consider moving the complex to nearby Naval Station San Diego.

A final commission vote on that proposal will probably happen Aug. 23 or 24, Principi said. The complex is spread over eight city blocks and more than 500,000 square feet of land.

The city of San Diego and the Navy have had a nearly 20-year understanding that the complex would be made available for redevelopment. Principi and Commissioners James Hansen, Philip Coyle and James Bilbray each said it was time to make that deal come true.

Bilbray said the intention of the commission was to "prod the Navy to move this deal along."

U.S. Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, also took part in the tour and said the prospective removal of the complex for redevelopment was one of the "happy things" to emerge from the base closure process.

The city and developers have long envisioned a mix of retail shops, offices and restaurants that would complement the North Embarcadero area along the waterfront.

When the commission finalizes its closure and realignment recommendations, there will be few North County and San Diego area facilities on the list.

In North County, the Pentagon proposes shifting 118 jobs from the Fallbrook Naval Weapons station to other facilities either in this state or elsewhere, and cutting 144 jobs at Camp Pendleton.

In San Diego, the military brass has proposed transferring a corpsman training program from the Balboa Naval Hospital to Texas, shutting down a defense accounting office and eliminating 460 jobs at Naval Base Coronado.

Miramar Marine Corps Air Station would get 72 new jobs, while 10 mine-sweeping ships and their 1,170 assigned personnel would be transferred from Ingleside, Texas, to San Diego.

The commission last month did press the Marine Corps brass as to why it needed to keep its downtown recruit depot adjacent to Lindbergh Field, but ultimately agreed that it should not be shut down.

Panel members, Principi in particular, were eyeing that facility in light of an ongoing search for a new regional airport or possible expansion of Lindbergh Field.

Some county residents contend that Miramar is the best site for a new airport because of its midcounty location and easy freeway access. Principi said the commission received a few letters on the issue, but that no government agency asked for Miramar's addition to the closure list.

Principi also said he did not envision Miramar as a joint military-civilian air field.

The commission must make its recommendations to the president by Sept. 8. If he agrees, the recommendations are forwarded to Congress, which then has 45 legislative days to accept or reject the list in its entirety.

If Congress rejects the proposal, the president and commission could resubmit the list or prepare a revised set of recommendations.

Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.

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