Another round of base closures is likely in 2020, Turner says

The last time there was a round of base closures was 2005, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the state’s largest single-site employer, fared well there, garnering 1,200 jobs in that round.

But Turner said this year is a little different.

“We usually look at BRAC as a winning opportunity for our community,” he said, adding, “I do believe that this BRAC will be not just Air Force to Air Force. It will be inter-service.”

That means that Wright-Patterson will be competing with other service branches to land new missions or retain old ones. “We need to be looking as a community at ways in which we can enhance opportunities …so we can partner with other service branches,” he said.

Turner was one of six Ohio lawmakers to address the nearly 130 members of the coalition who flew into Washington to emphasize the federal government’s importance to their community.

Many members expressed concern about the impact of President Donald Trump’s proposed budget. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said both parties have “pushed back” on Trump’s plans to zero out a handful of federal programs, including the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Appalachian Regional Commission. He said cuts to the National Institutes of Health would hurt local hospitals.

And Rep. David Joyce, R-Russell Twp., said cuts to the Great Lakes are a non-starter.

“Mick’s a nice guy,” he said of Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, “but the thing he has brought up to cut funding to the Great Lakes – I don’t see that he has much support outside himself, really.”

Turner said many of the cuts “are not going to fly.” He said he supports restoring money to some of the existing programs but also wants to make sure the money doesn’t come out of Defense.

Wright-Patt and the Springfield Air Guard Base have great track records, the lawmakers noted. But, said Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Troy, ”You don’t want to take anything for granted.”

Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, said he does not believe the Defense Department will focus on base closures yet.

“I don’t know if we’ll end up with a BRAC,” he said, “But if we do, we need to make sure Dayton and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are in a position to pick up net missions, net jobs, like they did in the last round of BRAC.”

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