News

Frist lends support for Ellsworth
By Celeste Calvitto, Journal Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has written a letter in support of Ellsworth Air Force Base to two members of the commission charged with reviewing the Department of Defense recommendations on the status of military installations. Frist, R-Tenn., visited Ellsworth last year while in South Dakota to campaign for then-Senate candidate John Thune.

The Pentagon is recommending that the nation's B-1B Lancer bomber fleet, including the 29 aircraft at Ellsworth, be housed at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and that Ellsworth be closed.

In his letter, Frist cites attributes that Ellsworth advocates have been emphasizing to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, commonly referred to as BRAC, in seeking to remove Ellsworth from the Defense department's list of recommended base closings. The commission is scheduled to vote on whether to remove any facilities from that list by late August.

"I want to draw your attention to a matter that requires close scrutiny," Frist said in a letter to retired Adm. Harold Gehman Jr. and retired Air Force Gen. Lloyd Newton. Frist appointed Gehman and Newton to the BRAC Commission.

Frist said, "I have always been impressed by its facilities, its personnel and the support it receives from the local community. Ellsworth AFB has unfettered airspace, exceptional facilities and infrastructure and does not suffer from the problems of encroachment that other bases now experience. In my view, Ellsworth AFB has excellent potential to serve as a multi-mission platform, or as a hub for future research, development, testing and experimentation."

While campaigning for Thune, Frist said that electing a Republican rather than returning then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle to office would help Ellsworth. Thune critics have made note of that since Ellsworth was recommended for closing on May 13.

Thune spokesman Alex Conant, when asked about Frist's letter, said Tuesday, "Obviously, we appreciate all the support we can get in the fight to save Ellsworth."

Asked whether he has written letters on behalf of other bases, Frist spokeswoman Amy Call said, "I don't know of any others" but that she couldn't say for sure.

Citing Frist's visit to South Dakota last fall, Call said that he "worked hard with Sen. Thune" and made a commitment to work to keep the base open.

"We just want to help move the process forward and to help Ellsworth have its voices heard," Call said.

Pat McElgunn, director of the Ellsworth Task Force, said, "We're always encouraged by the perspective brought by someone of Sen. Frist's stature and by his proactive stance in conveying his concerns to commissioners Newton and Gehman."

Gehman "has been a vocal person in terms of questioning the logic" of the DOD recommendations in light of national security concerns raised by the war on terrorism, McElgunn said.

"He is not one to accept these recommendations at face value," McElgunn said.

Gehman was one of three BRAC commissioners who voted last week to add Grand Forks Air Force Base to the list, arguing that it would allow the commission to better compare it with Ellsworth. Grand Forks was not added to the list.

Frist's letter also questioned the proposed consolidation of the B-1 fleet.

The BRAC Commission will vote next month on whether to remove bases from the list.

In other BRAC developments Tuesday, the $442 billion defense authorization bill was put on hold until Congress returns from its August recess. The action was taken after a move backed by Frist and the White House halted debate on several controversial amendments.

Three of those amendments, introduced by Thune, relate to BRAC and are co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D.

"It does give us more time to engage people in the debate and generate additional support," Thune said. "We will have greater certainty about which bases are on the list and will be in a better position to get the necessary votes to pass the amendments."

One of the amendments introduced by Thune would give Congress the ability to overrule BRAC decisions on individual bases, rather than acting on the list as a whole. Another amendment would delay the current round of base closings until recommendations about overseas bases are analyzed, until the Quadrennial Defense Review is received early next year and until "substantially all major combat units" deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned. A third measure "extends whistleblower protections" to current members of the armed services who want to give information to the BRAC Commission.

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