News

EAFB considered for financial-services operation
By Celeste Calvitto, Journal Staff Writer

ELLSWORTH AFB — Slightly more than a month after it was saved from the Pentagon's chopping block, Ellsworth Air Force Base is among five sites being considered for an Air Force financial-services operation that could bring in more than 700 jobs, Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D., said Wednesday.
Herseth said Air Force officials visited Ellsworth to determine whether it may be a suitable site to consolidate employees who handle financial-management services for Air Force personnel.

"Sometimes we focus, as we should, on the needs of fighters and bombers and tankers, but in addition to the aircraft and equipment and weapons, there is also the business and the people of the Air Force," Herseth said. "We need to look at the business of the Air Force as an essential component that is sometimes under the radar but is an ongoing need."

On Aug. 26, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission rejected the Defense Department's recommendation to close Ellsworth and move its 29 B-1B Lancer bombers to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. Members of South Dakota's congressional delegation and the Ellsworth Task Force immediately said it was important to take measures to "BRAC-proof" the base from future rounds.

Herseth met Wednesday with Gen. Michael Moseley, the Air Force chief of staff, to support the possibility of housing the financial operation at Ellsworth and to lobby for additional missions, such as unmanned aerial vehicles.

"The entire congressional delegation agrees that it's not too early to talk about new missions," Herseth said. Now is the time, she said, "to build on the momentum" of the BRAC Commission decision.

"The best news is, regardless of what the site survey (for the financial management operation) concludes, Ellsworth is already at the forefront of Gen. Moseley's mind," Herseth said. She said no decisions can be made until the current BRAC round is officially over — the commission's report is before Congress — but the Ellsworth site visit lays the groundwork.

Bruce Rampelberg, chairman of the Ellsworth Task Force, said such an operation "would be a great opportunity for South Dakota."

The other locations being considered are Buckley Annex, a military office complex at the former Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado; Kelly USA, an aviation and industrial center that was previously home to the Air Logistics Center at Kelly Air Force Base, Texas; Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico and Hill Air Force Base in Utah.

A new site for an Air Force financial services processing center would involve hiring new employees and drawing personnel from other bases. About 110,000 square feet is needed for the facility, and it would eventually accommodate 775 people, according to information provided by Herseth's office. It would be required to house 50 to 100 people by March 2007 and would be fully operational by October 2008. 

Contact Celeste Calvitto at 394-8438 or celeste.calvitto@rapidcityjournal.com.