For Immediate Release:
Friday, May 13, 2005             

WASHINGTON D.C - U.S. Representative Dan Boren called a press conference today in McAlester to discuss the release of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list.

 

The long awaited list was released to Members of Congress at 8:15 a.m. CST.  To the relief of lawmakers, none of Oklahoma’s major bases were recommended for closure.  Although some bases will experience personnel changes, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant located in Boren’s congressional district, was not affected. 

 

Boren said he was relieved to hear the news, but was not surprised – citing extensive preparation for this round of BRAC.  “This is a great day for McAlester,” Boren said.  “The hard work and devotion of the good people at the ammunition plant has made this base an asset to our nation’s military arsenal,” Boren said.    

 

“I want to thank the community for their unprecedented support to the base. With an impact of more than $168 million, these jobs are clearly important to our local economy,” Boren said.  “This was an important factor in keeping the base,” he added.  

 

“We aren’t out of the woods yet,” Boren cautioned.  “We’re not going to speculate about the probability of being placed on the list before BRAC ends, but we’re not going to let our guard down,” the lawmaker said. 

 

“We will do everything we can to make this process work in our favor.  We could even see jobs added to McAlester before it’s over,” Boren explained.   

 

Altus Air Force Base will remain open, but was recommended for realignment.  “Over the coming days, we will be reviewing this recommendation to determine why it was made and exactly what it will mean for the base,” Boren said. 

 

Boren, a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, plans to testify before the BRAC Commission in July.  “We will continue to fight for our bases,” he said.  “We will educate the BRAC commissioners on the importance of Oklahoma’s bases to our national security and our operations abroad,” said Boren. 

 

The Administration’s list will now be passed to the BRAC Commission which assembled in March.  Commissioners will scrutinize the recommendations before submitting a final list to the President in September.  The President can then make revisions before sending the list to Congress for final approval. 

####