Organizing Early To Protect The Groton Sub Base

The Subase Coalition, a group organized many years ago to prevent the closure of Submarine Base New London in Groton, will meet next week to talk about the possibility of another round of base reviews, Town Manger Mark Oefinger said.

The date, time and location of the meeting have not yet been finalized.

Groton’s sub base was targeted for partial closure in 1993 and total closure in 2005, but congressional leaders and the local community organized and prevented the cuts.

On Monday, the defense department announced that another round of The commission makes recommendations about which bases should close.

Oefinger said no one knows what the risk to Groton really is, so that discussion is part of the meeting's purpose.

“There is a lot of uncertainly that people foresee when you go through a BRAC process,” he said. “You don’t want the base to close, but on the other hand, the indecision of what may happen to the base puts a lot of decisions on hold.  People decide not to do things. It affects the psyche of a community.”

Uncertainty

Oefinger, who serves as chairman of the SouthEastern Connecticut Enterprise Region, an economic development agency in New London County, said the region is better at coping with uncertainty than it was in the past.

“Certainly around 1993, the whole world stopped around here,” he said.

When Groton saved the base from partial closure that year, it was one of only a handful out of about 100 such defense department recommendations, overturned by the BRAC Commission.

The List

Town Councilor Frank O’Beirne, Jr., gave the presentation to the commission in 1993 and was one of several authors of the presentation in 2005.

He said the best plan is to not get on defense department's list to begin with.

“If you stay off the list, you win. If you get on the list, you’re in for a fight. And frankly, people don’t want that fight. They’re scared of that fight,” he said. “That’s like the old adage, ‘Stay out of court’. It’s much better to stay out than get in, and have to fight for your life.”

The Process

The BRAC process works this way:

• The defense department recommends which bases should close or be changed.

• The BRAC commission reviews the recommendations. The process includes hearings during which the local community may argue its case about why a base should stay open.

• The commission makes a final recommendation to the president.

• The president accepts or rejects it, then sends the plan forward to Congress.

• Congress votes the package up or down; it cannot change one part, or decide one closure shouldn’t happen. The vote is all or nothing.

Economic Impact

Bob Ross, executive director of the Connecticut Office of Military Affairs, said an estimated 15,000 jobs are tied to the Groton base, including sailors, civilian employees, contractors and others. The base is worth $4.5 billion to the local economy. Both figures are calculated by the Navy.

Ross said the state wants to put the base in the best position to avoid being targeted, and he cited substantial investments in recent years. Current projects under way in Groton total $100 million, of which $11 million is state money, he said.

He said one goal of the meeting next week is to talk about the group and next steps.

“The challenge for me is to balance anxiety and concern,” Ross said. “I want people to be concerned about this . . .but I don’t want people to have anxiety (about) it.”

He said the local community can, and has, had an impact.

“We have a track record that demonstrates that when local people get organized and they’re thoughtful and deliberate and intelligent about it, they can make a difference,” he said.