Groton May Face Another Round of BRAC

Two senators and a congressman released a statement today after Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta indicated that there could be another round of military base closures.

The process of Base Realignment and Closures, also called BRAC, could be particularly frightening in Groton, which houses Naval Submarine Base New London, one of the town’s three largest employers.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, released a joint statement saying there’s sweeping opposition to the review and closure of military bases.  Since the process would require congressional approval, “the proposal is dead on arrival,” the three said.

“Typically, the actual savings from BRAC come long after the costs of implementation; another round would do nothing to help the Pentagon hit the targets outlined in the Budget Control Act,” the statement said. “As such, we will strongly oppose this misguided proposal as Congress debates the FY2013 defense budget.”

to the nation’s defense, and he would work to protect the industrial base.

He added that he wanted Congress to “suck it up, do what’s right for the country,” rather than allow the defense budget to be decimated.

Panetta was speaking as the deadline approached for the congressional "super committee” to agree on a plan to reduce the federal budget deficit.

and Electric Boat. Smith said then that the sub base in Groton is likely to endure, because it's been built up and invested in.

In May, the Groton base broke ground on a $2.48 million addition to Nimitz Hall, which will include a high-tech submarine simulator that teaches officers and crews how to navigate waters.

Gov. Dannel Malloy, who attended the groundbreaking, said the project was the fourth investment the state has made in the Groton base since 2005. The investments total $12 million, he said.

The Groton base was among the military facilities looked at in 2005 during the last BRAC review, Town Manager Mark Oefinger said during an interview at the groundbreaking.

One of the conclusions of that process was that the base was old and needs investment, he said.

Since 2007, the submarine base has secured millions to support new construction projects, including $9.3 million for a Submarine Learning Center, $11.9 million for a Waterfront Operations Center, $11 million for a new indoor firing range, $46 million to replace Pier 32 on the waterfront, and $6.6 million for a new MK-49 torpedo magazine.