The national base closure commission has voted to keep open the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Form complete coverage throughout the day log on to Seacoastonline.com.

It will most likely be just hours before we know the fate of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s vote on whether to approve the Navy’s recommendation to close the historic yard is expected later this afternoon or, at the latest, early Thursday.

No one involved in the process is willing to make a prediction, but what we do know is that the efforts of Donald Rumsfeld’s Pentagon to set military policy through a process that was designed initially to find ways to save taxpayers money has left a bad taste in nearly everyone’s mouth.

In just hours the fate of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - and the 4,800 men and women who work there - could be known.

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission will meet publicly today to deliberate the future of the 33 major military bases around the country the Pentagon has recommended for closure or major realignment. Each base will be considered and voted on individually.

Even at this late date, local officials and members of the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations are hesitant to offer a prediction on how the voting will go. It will take a vote of five of the nine commissioners to remove Portsmouth from the closure list.

PORTSMOUTH - All that’s left for the Seacoast Shipyard Association is to sit and wait.

Retired Capt. Bill McDonough, a former Portsmouth Naval Shipyard commander, said the association is not sending representatives to this week’s final Base Realignment and Closure hearings in Washington D.C.

Instead, shipyard supporters will stay at home and watch the hearings on C-SPAN2, waiting for the BRAC Commission’s vote on whether to remove the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from the recommended base-closure list.

A week before the Base Realignment and Closure Commission votes on recommended military base closures, the Defense Department has issued a statement reiterating its reasons for supporting the closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The 92-page letter, sent to BRAC Commission Chairman Anthony Principi on Tuesday, outlined arguments for each of the DOD’s base realignment and closure recommendations.

Retired Navy Capt. William McDonough, a former commander of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, said the section of the letter addressing the local shipyard appears to be a final-hour attempt to sway commissioners who are thinking about keeping the shipyard open.

For the past three months, hundreds of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard supporters have worked tirelessly to remove the installation from the Defense Department’s closure list.

On Saturday, men, women and children created yet another "ocean of yellow" in their Save Our Shipyard T-shirts at a picnic at Pease International Tradeport, in an effort to support the yard over the next nine days. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission is expected to make its decision on the yard’s fate later this month.

Some of their arguments seem to have been heard, as commission members have reportedly raised concerns recently over many of the Defense Department’s recommendations.

Ed Scully struggles when trying to explain what makes him - and others who have worked at the shipyard - devoted to keeping it open; he just is.

"Pride has a lot to do with it," Scully said. "I’m very proud of the fact that I was able to work on the shipyard all those years, and I’m proud of my work."

Scully, 71, worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for 39 years. He retired as the head of investigations and security services in 1994.

Retired Navy Capt. Bill McDonough, director of the Save Our Shipyard group, said he expects the Base Realignment and Closure Commission will make its decision on whether to recommend the closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Aug. 24.

The commission members have tentatively scheduled their public deliberative sessions for Aug. 24-26, he explained.

McDonough made that prediction during the final SOS task force meeting before Saturday’s scheduled shipyard support picnic at the Pease International Tradeport. The picnic will be the last opportunity for community residents and shipyard workers to demonstrate their support for keeping the base open.

You may know John Joyal from the leadership role he always takes when it comes to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

From yelling through a bullhorn to energize thousands of shipyard supporters and organizing advocacy events, Joyal always puts himself front and center.

But it’s not for himself, he said this week, when reflecting on the future of the shipyard and the more than 4,800 employees who work there.

Responding to criticism from the governors and congressional delegations of Maine and New Hampshire, a top Navy official has canceled his planned visit to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Shipyard advocates said Wayne Arny, acting deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for installations and facilities, planned a visit during the coming week to analyze the cost of environmental cleanup operations if the shipyard closes as the Pentagon recommends.

During what was slated to be another feel-good show of community support for the embattled Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Thursday, shipyard Metal Trades Council President Paul O’Connor dropped a bombshell.

O’Connor said that just prior to leaving the shipyard for the news conference at Portsmouth City Hall, he and other workers were told that Acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment Wayne Arny would be visiting the yard next week. Arny’s mission in visiting Portsmouth, O’Connor said he was told, was to evaluate the yard’s facilities and the environmental costs of closure.

The union president noted the decision to close the yard had not yet been made by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission or approved by President Bush and Congress.

Asked whether he was optimistic the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard could be saved, New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu would only say Wednesday that he and the other members of the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegation have made a strong case.

"This is a very large, very challenging, very complex problem," the senator said during a brief stop at Kittery Town Hall to meet with members of the Save Our Shipyard task force. "Without the support of this community we wouldn’t be where we are today, and that is that we have been able to make a strong, compelling case to the (Base Realignment and Closure) Commission."

Noting there are 33 major military bases that have been recommended for closure by the Pentagon, Sununu said the community, SOS, shipyard workers and the delegations working together have been able to move discussions about the Portsmouth yard forward.

By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine - President Bush said he understands what's at stake in Maine during the latest round of base closings and that he'll take a "close look" at the final list that's presented to him by Sept. 8.

But Bush also stressed he will not let politics enter into the matter, saying, "What I'm not going to do is politicize the process. That's important for people to understand."

"I understand this is difficult," Bush said during a round-table discussion at the White House with reporters from eight regional newspapers, including the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram. "I know Maine fairly well. It's a fantastic place. It's difficult for folks."

The admiral who, until a few months ago, was part of the group that decided the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard should close, was finally given his chance to make his views about the local shipyard known to the BRAC Commission staff.

On July 19, retired Rear Adm. William Klemm, the former deputy commander for logistics, maintenance and industrial operations for Naval Sea Systems Command, told the Base Realignment and Closure Commission staff that Portsmouth shouldn’t be closed unless the Navy is prepared to build three new dry docks somewhere else.

"The point is you can have as many people as you want, but you can’t do the work unless you have the dry docks to do the work in," Klemm was quoted as saying in a transcript of his testimony located on the BRAC Web site (www.brac.gov.). "You can surge (move materials and manpower around) or pay overtime as much as you want, but if you don’t have the dry docks, the boats don’t get fixed."

"What’s that old saying," Nancy McDonough asks, while sitting in her home last week, "stand by your man?"

Amid the sea of shipyard supporters, there is always one man who quietly stands out, a man almost every shipyard worker recognizes for his relentless efforts to save the yard from closing for the past 12 years.

For all the blood, sweat and tears Bill McDonough has put into the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, his wife of 55 years stands beside him.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was in the news again this past week with the visit of two more Base Realignment and Closure commissioners to the local yard.

There is little doubt from the comments Commissioners Sue Turner and Samuel Skinner made following Tuesday’s visit that they were impressed with the kind and quality of work performed at the yard. They both agreed with their colleagues who had visited in June that Portsmouth was, by far, the most efficient, innovative and capable shipyard in the country - public or private.

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard received rave reviews from the two base-closure commissioners who visited Tuesday.

"Currently, it’s a very, very, very impressive facility and a very impressive, what I call, public/private partnership here, and that does make a difference," said Samuel Skinner, a member of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. It really does live up to its expectations. It is a first-rate shipyard."

Full story from Today's Herald:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/special/7_26special7a.htm

Also from Today's Herald:
Thousands sweat it out to make impact on BRAC commissioners

President says don't hault base closings

Shipyard may get 8.1 million for upgrades

One BRAC commissioner to visit, not 2

Closure impact worries Principi

Shipyard must win own fight

Task force urges public to send letters to BRAC

By Shir Haberman from Washington:

WASHINGTON — The Department of Defense and the Navy dealt stinging blows Monday to those who want Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to remain open.

Under intense scrutiny from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, leaders defended their decision to place Portsmouth on the closure list and keep Pearl Harbor open.

Rear Adm. Robert Willard told the nine-member commission Pearl Harbor is more of a strategic asset to the Navy than Portsmouth.

“Pearl Harbor has distinct advantages to us because of its location,” the admiral said.

Even after acknowledging Portsmouth is superior to Pearl Harbor in the quality of overhaul and repair work it does, Willard maintained that Pearl Harbor was more important to the Navy.

“Portsmouth is a very efficient shipyard and it’s been given credit for that,” the admiral said. “But Pearl Harbor is of greater strategic value because of its wide-ranging capacity.”

Willard pointed out Pearl Harbor also does work on surface vessels and even has a nuclear aircraft carrier stationed there.

Michael Wynne, undersecretary of defense for acquisitions, technology and logistics, told the commission the decisions to close some facilities and leave others open “accommodates the current force, if it stays with us for a while, and accommodates the new force as it comes on.”

Willard agreed. He noted the decision to close Portsmouth was made because there was excess submarine maintenance capacity even with the current fleet of 56 attack subs.

The proposal to close Portsmouth Naval Shipyard instead of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard came down to strategic location, Pearl Harbor's ability to handle an aircraft carrier in drydock, and consideration to sailors who'd have to leave their Hawaii homeport for extended periods during submarine refuelings, England said.

"The total cost attribute favored Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, while the homeport proximity favored Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard," he wrote.

By The Associated Press

An independent commission evaluating bases recommended to be closed makes its selection next month and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard supporters will keep lobbying for the yard through that day.

"We will continue to forcefully make the case for Portsmouth," said a statement released by the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations.

"Until the week of August 22nd, when we expect the commission to begin finalizing its recommendations during a public hearing, we will join with Governors Baldacci and Lynch to do everything we can to make sure the commissioners and their staff fully understand all arguments in support of Portsmouth."

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii's economy would lose $1.3 billion and nearly 10,000 jobs if the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is closed, according to a new report.

While officials in Maine and New Hampshire have said shutting down Portsmouth could directly eliminate 4,400 shipyard jobs and as many as 7,500 additional jobs in the two states.

Interesting read from the Executive Intelligence Review:

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2005/3228warner_brac.html

Hawaii's group was formed just days after the head of the commission asked Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in a July 1 letter to explain why the Pentagon left the Pearl Harbor shipyard off the list released in May, instead recommending the closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine.

The base closure commission will hold a hearing on July 19 in Washington to decide whether bases including Pearl Harbor should be added to the hit list. Seven of the nine commissioners would have to vote to add a base, and public hearings and base visits would follow.

STRATFORD, Conn. (AP) - There was a time when the shelves at the South Main Package Store were filled with spirits for the Army machinists to take home after work. The price tags are still there, clinging to empty shelf space.

These days, Alice Connolly doesn't stock much in her family business: Six liters of vodka, a few scattered bottles and boxes of table wine, a half-full cooler of beer.

It's been that way since 1997, when the Base Closure and Realignment Commission closed the Stratford Army Engine Plant across the street, wiping out 1,400 jobs.

Maine and New Hampshire officials last week delivered a strong presentation to the BRAC commission during a hearing in Boston using charts, graphs and expert testimony. They also went on the offensive and cited examples of Portsmouth having greater efficiency compared to Pearl Harbor.

Officials in Hawaii said the two shipyards can’t be compared.

"When you talk about efficiency, you’re talking about apples and pineapples. We do different work," said Matt Hamilton, president of the Hawaii Federal Employees Metal Trades Council, the umbrella organization representing 15 labor unions. "We do a myriad of things they just don’t do there. I don’t know how you can compare."

Lee said Pearl Harbor does everything from emergency jobs to long-term overhauls and services everything from submarines to aircraft carriers, while Portsmouth focuses on submarines. "I kind of use the term, ‘one-trick pony,’" he said.

Entire Article from the AP:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07102005/news/52062.htm

Also from the Sunday Herald:
2005 base-closure process is threat to our national security
The decision to close bases is being made based on budget considerations rather than a full analysis of the threats America may face in the future. This is especially frightening when one considers that the budget was developed by an administration that truly believes it is appropriate to spend billions fighting active wars in two countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, and attempting to upgrade security at home while cutting taxes.

A sea of yellow invades Boston
Icon inspires fight for yard

While sitting on a school bus from Pease International Tradeport to the Base Realignment Commission hearing in Boston, Tom Brown said he wasn’t about to miss this journey.

Brown, a retired Portsmouth Naval Shipyard worker who now works as an outside contractor at PNS, lives in Somersworth. He went to the BRAC hearing with his wife, Diane. They were both wearing yellow "Save Our Shipyard" T-shirts, and Brown remembered taking a similar trip to Boston a decade before.

Entire Article from Today's Herald

Also from Today's Herald:
Closure panel gets an earful
Submarine fleet’s future is at risk

U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., began his testimony before the BRAC commission by revealing a disturbing development.

According to Gregg, at the last minute the Department of Defense gagged Rear Admiral William Klemm, preventing him from testifying on behalf of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Klemm, who is now retired, would have "devastated" the Navy's case against the shipyard, Gregg said.

According to Gregg, the Navy gagged Klemm because his testimony "would be inconsistent with the current policy."

Gregg urged the BRAC commissioners to speak privately with Klemm.

"I would think as a commission you might want to ask why someone with his knowledge was forced out of providing testimony by the Pentagon," Gregg said. "You are in a position to determine what he would have said.

The Connecticut delegation at the BRAC Commission hearings this morning gave commissioners an earful about how the Department of Defense violated its own rules in choosing to close the New London Sub Base.
“We put so many holes into the Pentagon’s case that it looks like Swiss cheese without much cheese,” said U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn. “Why take the risk with the war on terrorism, China gaining power and the resurgence of Russia as a submarine power.”
The Portsmouth delegation is expected to begin making its case to the commission at 1:15 p.m.

Buses filled with shipyard supporters are just about ready to roll to Boston for the Base Realignment and Closure hearings.

Business Editor Michael McCord reports Gov. John Lynch is shaking hands with yard supporters as they board the buses at Pease.

Shipyard supporters are uniformly dressed in yellow, and fittingly, the school buses leased for the trip are also yellow.

McCord reports that along with workers and adult supporters there are many families with children making the trip to Boston.

In all, 75 buses are expected to drive from the Seacoast to Boston to give strength and support to the region's elected leaders as they make the case to take the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard off the base closure list.

The hearing on Portsmouth begins at 1 p.m. Look for updates throughout the day.

View the video fottage of the trip from Seacoastonline Multimedia
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07062005/maine/51282.htm#video

Last-minute preparations are under way for the historic Base Realignment and Closure Commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Boston.

As Save Our Shipyard, the group working to get the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard taken off the base closure list, puts the finishing touches on how to get the thousands of community residents and shipyard workers into Boston, a local state representative would like to give those who can’t make the meeting a chance to also express their support.

Get the full story on tomorrow's meeting:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07052005/news/51084.htm

Here are points likely to be raised at Wednesday’s hearing in Boston:

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employs over 4,000 civilian workers from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and pumps more than $250 million into the economies of Maine and New Hampshire.

The Department of Defense says closing the nation’s oldest federal shipyard would save $1.3 billion over 20 years. Maine and New Hampshire officials dispute that number; New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said last week that the impact of closing Portsmouth could be as much as 10 times what the Pentagon estimates.

"I really do believe that the Department of Defense came to a mistaken recommendation based on erroneous data and incomplete analysis," Lynch said.

The yard’s supporters also argue the Pentagon has underestimated by millions of dollars the savings from doing work at Portsmouth rather than shipyards elsewhere.

Members of the Maine and New Hampshire congressional delegations said last week they "will use the shipyard’s outstanding reputation for finishing work on time and under budget as concrete and tangible evidence for why the shipyard should not be closed."

Entire Article the AP:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07052005/news/51087.htm

Just six days before the Base Realignment and Closure Commission is scheduled to take public testimony on the Navy’s decision to close the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the commission’s chairman is asking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to clarify that decision.

"Why was the Naval Shipyard Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, not closed and the ship depot repair function realigned to the Naval Shipyard, Norfolk, Va.; Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth; and Naval Shipyard Puget Sound, Wash?" BRAC Commission Chairman Anthony Principi asked Rumsfeld in a letter dated July 1.

From Today's Herald:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07022005/news/50725.htm

There are many who believe it will take more than a restatement of the same old stories about efficiency and economy to convince the BRAC Commission on Wednesday to take the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard off the closure list. They believe there is a need for Maine and New Hampshire to make a monetary offering to the commission to help defray some of the costs involved in operating the yard. One gentleman who worked to get the yard off the closure list in the 1970s suggested a contribution of $10 million from each state to offer as a carrott to the commission. Is that what we need to do to save the yard - and is it worth it?

Today's Herald:
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07012005/maine/50440.htm

Also:
Economists eye effects of closures
Economic analysts from inside and outside state government gathered Thursday for a mini-retreat with a new item on their customary agenda - the potential impact from decisions by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

By TIM McCAHILL
Associated Press Writer

KITTERY, Maine - The nation's oldest federal shipyard, targeted for closure by the Pentagon, received bittersweet recognition of its work Thursday: a commendation from the Navy acknowledging the shipyard's "invaluable contribution" to national security.

The Meritorious Unit Commendation was given to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for its "phenomenal record" of refueling and overhauling nuclear submarines ahead of schedule, the Navy said.

Then-Navy Secretary Gordon England awarded the commendation on May 12, one day before the Pentagon released its list of recommended base closures.

We found out yesterday that the U.S. Department of Labor has already allocated $28 million to help the 35 states with bases scheduled for closure or realignment deal with the issues the changes will raise. Maine will get the third highest amount - $1.27 million. With the government already calculating aid to the affected states, one has to wonder whether the decision to close the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has already been made and everything from this point forward is simply for show.

Lynch declares July 6 'Save Our Shipyard' Day
In a show of support for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Gov. John Lynch has proclaimed Wednesday, July 6, "Save Our Shipyard" Day in New Hampshire.

Next battle in yard fight
Maine, New Hampshire Officials Make BRAC Hearing Dry Run

PORTSMOUTH - Pedestrians and drivers in the downtown area this summer may see a rolling yellow "Save Our Shipyard" sign.

The Downtown Loop, a trolley service operated by the Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation, unveiled its summertime trolley on Monday, complete with the bright-yellow logo printed on the rear.

Entire Article from Today's Herald

Also:
Congressmen rehearse for BRAC appearance

Eileen Foley, resting her chin in her hands, moves her sparkling eyes upward and begins to reflect on a time when the entire Seacoast was "out winning the war."
It was a time when "Rosie the Riveter" wasn’t just a vintage poster but a representation of strong women, like Foley, who left their homes and joined the service or worked at shipyards or factories across the country.

"People cried out loud; they laughed harder," said Foley.

It was a time when the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard was booming, when up to five submarines were under construction there at any one time.

Entire article from Today's Herald

PORTSMOUTH - The hundreds of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard advocates who travel to Boston July 6 will act as a "silent statement" to the commissioners who will determine the yard’s fate.

Entire Article from the Sunday Herald

The following is a link to the Navy's testimony during a BRAC Commission hearing.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is specifically mentioned and discussed on pages 59 through 63.

http://www.brac.gov/docs/BRACHearingFullTranscript17MayPM.pdf

Portland, Maine- The Portland Sea Dogs donated a total of $8,000.00 to the tasks forces committed to keeping the Brunswick Naval Air Station and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard off of the Base Realignment and Closure list. The Sea Dogs hosted a “Save the Bases” night on Thursday, June 22nd. 50% of the ticket sales from June 1 through June 22 for tonight’s game were donated directly to the fight to keep these bases open.
Each task force was proudly presented a check for $4,000.00 after God Bless America was performed during the 7th inning stretch. In Portsmouth the proceeds will be going to the Seacoast Shipyard Association (SSA) on behalf of the Save Our Shipyard Task Force. The Brunswick proceeds will go to the NAS Brunswick Task Force.
A crowd of 6,862 fans attended the game in support of Maine’s military bases. A sea of yellow shirts supporting the bases was visible throughout the crowd, even Slugger showed his support. Slugger arrived at the ballpark with his yellow shirt and State of Maine flag.
In May Mainers learned that the Pentagon’s Base Realignment and Closure committee had recommended that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery be shutdown and the Brunswick Naval Air Station be realigned
“The generosity and support from the Portland Sea Dogs is truly extraordinary. The Chamber and the Task Force is pleased to have such a distinguished partner in our efforts to have Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB) removed from the Department of Defense’s realignment list. Our public awareness campaign hits a homerun on Wednesday night thanks to our friends at the Sea Dogs,” said Catherine Glover, Southern Mid-Coast Maine Chamber President and CEO.
In addition, the Sea Dogs had a giant card for fans to sign to show their support for Maine’s military bases. The Sea Dogs will forward the card on to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Paul O'Connor President of the Metal Trades Council Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Union threw out a ceremonial first pitch along with Bill Babbin, the NASB Union President, and Governor John Baldacci.
“More than a wonderful evening of family fun at Hadlock, this generous move by the Sea Dogs represents the broad and regional public support for NASB. The public understands the future military value and strategic location of the Brunswick base. Thanks to the Sea Dogs, we are in a better position to make sure that the BRAC Commissioners understand that homeland defense value too,” concluded Cdr. Richard H. Tetrev USN (Ret), Chairman of the NAS Brunswick Task Force.
The Sea Dogs capped the night off with a 2-0 win over the Trenton Thunder (Yankees).

KITTERY, Maine - About 250 Portsmouth Naval Shipyard advocates have expressed interest in attending a July hearing to show their support for the yard to those who will decide its fate.
Members of the Save Our Shipyard Task Force met Tuesday to discuss the logistics surrounding the July 6 hearing of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

The task force’s goal is to sign up more than 3,000 shipyard supporters and bus them down to the regional hearing in Boston.

Entire article from Today's Portsmouth Herald

PORTSMOUTH - Shipyard supporters have two months to review and possibly dispute thousands of pages of information recently released by the Defense Department.

The data are part of the Pentagon’s case recommending the yard’s closure.

In response to outcries from the public and a subpoena from two U.S. senators, the Defense Department last week released a large volume of documents to support its findings.

Entire article from Today's Portsmouth Herald

From the Boston Globe and AP, Veterans say base closings will hurt them.

From today's Portsmouth Herald. The personal effect that the closing will have as we hear about a Welder who will move if the shipyard closes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As the July 6th BRAC Commission regional hearing in Boston approaches, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) is preparing to lead the way for Maine in making the case for reversing the Pentagon’s recommendations to close Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Center in Limestone, and to realign Brunswick Naval Air Station. Senator Snowe, the other members of Maine’s congressional delegation, the Governor and community groups will take on the Pentagon’s rationale for its recommendations point by point, demonstrating that it deviated substantially from the BRAC criteria and did not fully recognize the value of each installation. Snowe has 27 years of legislative experience and is a veteran of four previous BRAC rounds.

“As the Senior Senator for Maine, it is my responsibility to coordinate our efforts to make the strongest case possible to the BRAC Commissioners, and I take that responsibility very seriously,” said Snowe. “The facts are on our side, and we in Maine’s congressional delegation have been working closely with the Governor – and in the case of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire’s congressional delegation and governor – to bring those facts to light. I look forward to having an opportunity on July 6th to dismantle the Pentagon’s arguments with its own data. In the meantime, we will continue to analyze the Pentagon’s recommendations, methodology, and supporting data.”

Following are some of the most recently updated key points on Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Brunswick Naval Air Station:

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s Military Value:

· DoD’s own analyses show that Portsmouth has a higher military value rating than Pearl Harbor. This explains why just one day before the Secretary of Defense recommended closing Portsmouth, the Chief of Naval Operations awarded Portsmouth a highly praiseworthy Meritorious Unit Commendation.

· The Commission must exercise extraordinary caution before closing any nuclear licensed shipyard. Because the opportunity to obtain a nuclear license in today’s world is virtually impossible, closing a nuclear shipyard that already has an unblemished record and full regional support forfeits an asset that cannot be reclaimed.

“That the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy have both

recognized – in writing – that Portsmouth stands head and shoulders above any other shipyard makes the Pentagon’s closure decision absolutely indefensible,” said Snowe. “Add to that the near impossibility of obtaining a nuclear license and it becomes even clearer that Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is an irreplaceable asset that we cannot afford to close.”

Cost Savings from Realigning Brunswick Naval Air Station:

· Most of the alleged cost savings come from the elimination of personnel. However, nearly 40% of these personnel are already programmed to be eliminated anyway with the introduction of the MMA aircraft. This is because many of the current 300 P-3 aircraft maintenance positions are already targeted for phase out with Boeing, the builder of the new MMA, picking up their duties under contract.

· All scenarios concerning the closure or realignment of Brunswick failed to consider the impact the introduction of the MMA would have on cost savings. For example, Navy analysis failed to acknowledge that Brunswick already has a $30 million MMA capable hangar and that Jacksonville does not, and that Jacksonville will have to incur substantial MILCON costs to house the new big Boeing 737’s.

"I intend to show that the cost savings put forward by the Navy are erroneous and built upon assumptions that can not withstand even rudimentary scrutiny," said Snowe. "We will highlight how the Navy overstated personnel savings, ignored mission costs and understated military construction costs to arrive at a conclusion that met their need to show savings."

WASHINGTON, DC-- Senator Susan Collins today met in her Washington, DC
office with Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England to discuss the
Department’s production of BRAC-related documents. Secretary England agreed
to make available key department of defense analysts responsible for
generating the data that led to the BRAC decisions. In addition, Senator
Collins raised the problem of reviewing the approximately 25 million pieces of
information on the DoD website that currently require a manual search for a
complete review. Secretary England acknowledged the problem.

Senator Collins requested that Pentagon officials who are closely involved
with the BRAC process be made available to help answer questions that might
arise as newly released documents are more closely analyzed. “It is important
to be able to talk to the analysts because some of the judgments and
assumptions that they used have not been captured in written form. Therefore,
the only way to get to the bottom of DoD’s BRAC decisions is to talk to the
analysts who actually crunched the numbers that led to the decisions,” said
Senator Collins.

In addition, Senator Collins pointed out that information that the
Pentagon has released and posted on its website is difficult for most
individuals to search. She requested that Secretary England work to better
organize the material on the website so that it is more “user friendly.” “I am
concerned about the public’s inability to efficiently search the volumes of
information and hundreds of files posted on the DOD website,” said Senator
Collins. “I am pleased that Secretary England acknowledged the problem and
hope that the DOD will be able to improve the situation.”

“This was a very productive meeting, and I appreciate Secretary England’s
responsiveness,” said Senator Collins.

By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press

GROTON, Conn. -- The Navy's top submarine commander warned Monday against reducing the size of the nation's sub fleet, saying there are already more missions than submarines to complete them.

Testifying before a House Armed Service subcommittee, Vice Adm. Charles L. Munns said current shipbuilding projections put the nation at risk.

Munns testimony comes at a critical time for the submarine fleet. After building up the fleet during the Cold War, Congress and the president are preparing to pare the fleet from 55 attack submarines to 33, said U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Maryland, chairman of the Subcommittee on Projection Forces.

Munns said submarines have played a key role on the war on terrorism, gathering intelligence and supporting military action.

"What keeps me awake at night is ensuring our ability to keep doing this in the future," Munns said.

The hearing was held at the Navy's submarine base in Groton, which the Pentagon has recommended closing. While Monday's hearing did not pertain to that closure, committee members made it clear it was on their minds.

"I think it's horribly wasteful," U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss. in his opening statements. "We're going to spend a heck of a lot more money cleaning up this base than we'll ever end up saving."

Some supporters of the Groton base believe that bolstering the submarine fleet would make it harder to close the base. But John Markowicz, the head of a regional coalition to save base, said it's not that simple. He said the Pentagon based its closing recommendation on its own classified fleet projections, which are not affected by congressional testimony.

Military contractors, including Groton's Electric Boat, also have a lot at stake.

President Bush and congressional leaders expect to build one Virginia-class submarine until 2011. Navy officials said this shipbuilding plan won't keep up with the decommissioning of Los Angeles-class submarines.

"No one is comfortable with that," Munns said. "That's not a risk that anyone thinks we should take."

Submarine advocates, including U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, whose district includes EB and the sub base, are pushing for authorization to build two submarines per year.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission having barely begun its work reviewing the Pentagon’s BRAC recommendations, Maine and New Hampshire’s congressional delegations are working to make sure the Department of Defense (DoD) does not attempt to get a head start on implementing its recommendations or prevent any member of the armed forces or civilian employee from testifying before the Commission.

In a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Maine Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and New Hampshire Senators Judd Gregg and John Sununu asked for his assurance that DoD not preemptively identify or carry out any permanent transfer of activities or personnel from any installation identified by the Department for possible closure or realignment prior to Congressional consideration of the final list. The Senators also called on Secretary Rumsfeld to permit any member of the Armed Forces to freely testify before the Commission as to the military value of any military installation, and asked that no member of the Armed Forces who does so be punished in any way.

“The Department of Defense should under no circumstances begin to take action on closing and realigning bases across the country before the BRAC process has come to an end,” said the Senators in a joint statement. “Also, in order to ensure that the BRAC Commissioners receive all the information they need to make their decisions, all members of the Armed Services or civilian employees should be free to provide any and all information requested by the Commission without fear of reprisal.”

Following is the full text of the letter:

Dear Mr. Secretary:

As you know, we are currently reviewing the information supporting your recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, and we will be presenting information to the Commission in connection with installations in our states that we believe have mistakenly been included in your proposed list for closure or realignment.

In connection with that effort, we request your assurance that there will be no effort by the Department of Defense to preemptively identify or carry out any permanent transfer of activities or personnel from any installation identified by the Department for possible closure or realignment prior to Congressional consideration of the final list of BRAC recommendations, except for reasons of national security or a military emergency, as required by Section 2909 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act.

To enable the BRAC Commission to obtain authoritative information regarding decisions on military value taken by the Department in connection with its recommendations, we request that you permit any member of the Armed Forces to freely answer questions and/or provide to the Commission testimony as to the military value of any military installation for purposes of the Commission’s consideration of the Secretary’s recommendations. Further, we seek your assurance that no member of the Armed Forces may be discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against because such member provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide testimony or other information to the Commission. Finally, we ask that these same assurances be provided with respect to civilian employees at military installations.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

The Defense Department should not attempt to get a "head start" on implementing its military closure recommendations while the process is still underway, 11 U.S. senators argued in a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Monday.

Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and John Thune, R-S.D., asked Rumsfeld to assure them the Defense Department does not "preemptively identify or carry out any permanent transfer of activities or personnel, from any installation identified by the Department for possible closure or realignment, prior to Congressional consideration of the final list," according to a press release.

Entire article from Today's Portsmouth Herald

What do you think? It's a fact that the majority of jobs are moving to "red" states from "blue" states. Now we also see potential and former candidates for President like Wesley Clark, trying to make political "hay" from the issue.

Maybe we can get Howard Dean, current Democratic National Chairman and former Presidential front-runner, back to his favorite state to remind our New Hampshire senators they should also have loyalty to their home state and not just blind loyalty to Dubya.

Wanted: 800 petition signatures

PORTSMOUTH - Anyone interested in helping save the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from closing will have a chance to put that support in writing at Market Square Day on Saturday.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/06102005/news/46816.htm

Kittery fighting, yet also preparing for, base closure

KITTERY, Maine - There is life after a base closure.
That was the message the Association of Defense Comm-unities tried to spread at the 2005 annual conference of NAID/ADC conference in Denver, Colo.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/06102005/maine/46812.htm

The Department of Defense, which has targeted the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for closure, discovered on Tuesday that it has a real fight on its hands.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the chairman and ranking Democrat, respectively, on the Senate Committee for Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, issued a subpoena for all data used to justify the Pentagon’s recommendations for closing military installations around the country.

As the base-closure commission’s deadline for submitting a final list to President Bush draws nearer, senators, congressmen and leaders around the country find themselves in the impossible position of fighting unsubstantiated claims.

You can’t prove that a recommendation is wrong unless you know the criteria used to make that recommendation.

"The stakes are high for our nation and for a lot of people around the country," Lieberman said at a news conference announcing the subpoena. "Because the stakes are high, it is even more important the process be fair and open so the conclusions are fair and just."

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, continued her no-holds-barred criticism of the Defense Department’s base closure recommendations and process.

"The clock is ticking for affected communities throughout Maine and the country to make the case for their military facilities to the BRAC Commission," Snowe said. "What the Department of Defense has done is simply incomprehensible and reprehensible. By refusing to fully and completely release the supporting information that explains their base-closing rationale, they are clearly flouting the intent of the statute."

While Lieberman, Snowe and Collins are certainly not disinterested parties, their concern over the accuracy of the Defense Department’s findings was bolstered Tuesday by the release of a report by the Government Accountability Office. The GAO report pointed out serious problems with the methodology the Pentagon used to determine "excess capacity," the measure used in targeting bases for closure.

"It is significant that the GAO, the office whose job it has been since 1988 to be ‘an independent and objective observer’ using ‘generally accepted governmental accounting standards’ in reviewing BRAC recommendations, was sharply critical of the methodology used by the Defense Department in determining excess capacity, a core issue in this BRAC round, particularly with regard to the recommendation for Portsmouth," Snowe said Tuesday in a press release.

On Friday the 13th of May, when the Department of Defense released its closure list, shipyard supporters vowed to fight. Snowe and Collins of Maine and Lieberman of Connecticut, using the investigative power granted them, have begun to land some blows on the Defense Department bureaucracy, which thought it could destroy 205 years of proud shipbuilding tradition without reason or justification.

Has anybody seen our New Hampshire senators?

- Portsmouth Herald

We started this Blog a few weeks ago and much to our disappointment no one has registered or posted any comments or ideas here. There have been plenty of you reading the Blog, (we know that by our web traffic reports) but where is the passion for becoming involved and furthering the discussion?

So, lets hear from you! If we are passionate about keeping the Shipyard open then lets use this site to discuss the issues and lets tell others about the site and encourage our politicians and leaders to pay more attention.

You, the Seacoast community, are the one's responsible for making the noise, furthering the discussion and doing what we can to save the shipyard. So, start making some noise!

I recommend that each of you go to the website for the BRAC recommendation list and see the justification for closing Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for yourself. It will prove to you that the individuals responsible for making the recommendation did not understand the basic rules of economics or geography.

First, under the Payback: heading it says that the one time cost to implement the closure would be $448.4 million dollars. The recommendation goes on to say that the annual recurring savings to the De-partment (of the Navy) after implementa-tion are $128.6 million with a payback expected in four years. The net present value of the costs and savings to the De-partment over 20 years is a savings of $1,262.4 million (1.26 billion). Under the Environmental Impact: section, it says that 47.1 million is required for remediation, but does not include that in the cost to close because it would have to be done anyway. Well, as any lottery player knows, the lump sum today does not equal the payments over twenty years. If the shipyard were to cost soon, the 47.1 million would be spent soon. If you saved 495.5 million (448.4 plus 47.1 mil-lion) today at 4.8%, in twenty years it would have grown to the same1.26 billion. I think that putting the closure money in a secure bond fund would make more sense and create a lot less suffering. The sad thing is that the Navy had to give North-rop Grumman Newport News about 1.3 bil-lion in the past year for cost overruns on two submarines and an aircraft car-rier. That is twenty years of proposed savings for closing Portsmouth, that were actually spent in 2005.

Secondly, the report states that the Portland- South Portland – Biddeford, ME Metropolitan Statistical Area will lose 2.8 percent of the economic area employ-ment due to the shipyard. It adds an-other 1.3 percent loss for Brunswick Na-val Air Station. Although it is flattering that they consider the area a metropolitan area, they seem to be oblivious that the closure action affects the Rockingham County-Strafford County, HN Statistical Area. The report only re-fers to the New Hampshire area in the analysis of two small reserve centers af-fected. It says that NH will gain four jobs during the BRAC. I think that some-body needs to show the BRAC Commission a map. I guess that is why no New England-ers were picked for the commission.

Therefore, closing the shipyard will save about 63 million a year over twenty years (or 61 million, if you include the cleanup cost in the equation). That means that we would have to maintain our performance on two or three DMP overhauls a year to come out ahead. Another inter-esting thing is that based on the 4,800 people working here for the $65,000 a year (as seen in the paper) and assuming an average 20 percent IRS tax rate, ship-yard employees are sending in over 62.4 million dollars a year. Say that those 4,800 people are under employed because of a lack of finding a similar job. Take 4,800 people and bring them down near the regional median income of $40,000. Mul-tiply that times a lower 15 percent mar-ginal rate and you get 28.8 million dol-lars to the IRS. That is 33.6 million less to the coffers of the United States than if you left the shipyard alone. It would make sense to deduct the 33.6 loss to the IRS from the 61 million a year savings for closing. That comes out to about 27 million a year net savings to the government for closing the shipyard. I will not even get into paying reloca-tion expenses for some of those 4,800 people, but I would think that it would cost a fair amount, and would be paid for at government expense. Then you can get into the fact that no building exists to receive the personnel from SUBMEPP, a shipyard resident agency. I am sure that a new building will cost several million to build.

I have a hard time justifying all that suffering of thousands of people when the country ran a 450-plus billion dollar budget deficit in 2005. Is closing the shipyard really going to improve the fi-nancial future of the country? I think not. I think that removing the competi-tion that Portsmouth provides will cost the government more than 27 million (using my math) or even 63 million a year (using their math). If you use 63 million, the percentage of the 2005 budget deficit comes out to .014 percent. I just do not see how closing the shipyard is saving the country in a significant way. I would think that moving our work to Norfolk would be repeating the mistake of Pearl Harbor – it’s not good to put all your eggs in one basket.

One of my larger concerns is the potential loss of thousands of years of expe-rience working on nuclear submarines. If you take 4,800 workers times an average of 15 years of experience each, you get 72,000 years of experience. Nuclear submarines are by nature, nuclear. A con-tributing factor to the loss of the space shuttle Columbia was that the shuttle technical support was contracted out and moved from California to Texas. The majority of the experienced people did not relocate. The loss of the Columbia was the result. I will let the readers make their own comparisons between shuttles and submarines.

Personally, I think that the entire 2005 BRAC could have some rather unpleasant unintended consequences. Mathematically, if a friend knows a friend of a friend, and if each person knows a thousand peo-ple, everyone in the United States is somehow affected by a person affected by the BRAC. The effects of the BRAC are broad. When people are nervous about their jobs, they shrink back and do not spend freely. This could cause the entire national economy to take a downturn. Along with rising interest rates and the large federal deficits into the future, I am concerned that we may be heading in the wrong direction. I will make a prediction and say that I bet that this sum-mer’s tourist business will be less than rosy.

Now I read in the paper that, if the recommendation were approved, the shipyard would be closed by 2008. I guess that someone wants to wipe out the political bargaining value of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard forever. I can only surmise that the plan is to move everyone (of the few) to their new location as quickly as possible to prepare for the crushing workload ahead. The frightening thing is that the shipyards that would receive the displaced work need to hire so many new people (thousands) to do the work, that there is absolutely no way to train any new workers (off the street) in time. Work on nuclear ships requires a security clearance. It can take over a year just to get a clearance. Only after a clear-ance is received, can detailed, job spe-cific training begin. (Although a pri-vate shipyard down south has let foreign nationals work on their ships; it is not allowed at public shipyards.)

It takes years to go through an apprentice program and become proficient at performing nuclear work. As an engineer, it takes many years to gain the experi-ence necessary to avoid problems before they occur. Closing the shipyard will send us down a dangerous path, in my opinion, similar to the path of the Space Shuttle Program.

Being an engineer, I am not one to take unnecessary risks. I think that the term is, being conservative. I had to look up conservative in the dictionary to see if the definition was still the same. In my 1986 Webster’s it says - 3.a. tending or disposed to maintaining existing views, conditions or institutions. b. marked by moderation or caution. I think that when we are affecting thousands of citizens, and the future safety and security of the United States is at stake, we should take the conservative approach, using the actual definitions from the dictionary.

From today's Portsmouth Herald
By Elizabeth Kenny

PORTSMOUTH - The Defense Department would like to close Portsmouth Naval Shipyard by 2008.
The news came as a shock to some shipyard workers and locals who thought they’d be given more time to plan for their future and for the massive economic loss in the community.

According to a report recently released to the base realignment and closure commission, a nine member panel who will determine the fate of the yard, Portsmouth is recommended to begin closing in 2006, and closing by 2008 - the yard’s 208th year in existence.

"I saw that number, and I was sort of shocked," said Paul Schumacher, executive director of Southern Maine Regional Planning Commission, which has been working to keep the yard open while preparing for a closure. "That’s a lot earlier than any one had anticipated."

Schumacher also raised concerns over the environmental cleanup of the facility, which has been building and maintaining nuclear submarines for decades.

The Defense Department estimates that the cost of environmental cleanup and restoration at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will amount to $35.3 million. It is expected the cleanup would be complete in 2013.

Even while cleanup is taking place, the yard may not be completely closed off from development, according to Major Susan Idziak, a spokesperson for the Defense Department.

"There are cases in former (closed) installations, and I’m not saying Portsmouth will be (closed) but there are cases where cleanup is going on, while some of the land on the installation is turned over," Idziak said.

In May, the shipyard was recommended for closure, along with 33 other major military installations as a cost-saving effort meant to transform the military to meet future needs. All the facilities are currently being reviewed by the commission, before it submits its findings to the president in September.

Legislation requires bases initiate closure within two years of the date the president forwards the BRAC’s recommendations to Congress.

A military installation must be closed within six years of that same date.

Capt. Bill McDonough, a former shipyard commander, said he feels the shipyard’s closure would be closer to six years out despite the department’s 2008 recommendation.

McDonough cited legislation that requires the Defense Department only recommend installations that can begin to show savings by 2011. McDonough, who believes the shipyard was wrongfully targeted for closure, said the department had to put 2008 to comply with the law, but felt it could change.

In the meantime, McDonough and other supporters are determined to prove to the BRAC commission that the Defense Department "substantially deviated" from the closure criteria.

Both an installations environmental cleanup and its economic impact are criteria that were considered by the Defense Department when determining which installations it would recommend for closure.

"Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 9,166 jobs," a recent Defense Department report states.

That figure accounts for the 4,510 jobs that will be lost directly and another 4,656 jobs lost indirectly over the period from 2006 to 2011.

This number represents 2.76 percent of the total employment within the metropolitan statistical area of Portland, South Portland and Biddeford, Maine, according to the report.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch released a report this week that states the Defense Department has vastly underestimated the number of jobs that could be lost. Lynch has also expressed concerns that the Defense Department looked at the Portland area, rather than the Portsmouth-Dover area, where the majority of the workers reside.

Advocates for the shipyard say the Defense Department has also underestimated the cost of environmental cleanup for the facility.

If you haven't checked out this excellent video feature from Deb Cram and Jaron Horrocks, you should. Includes interviews with the Governor and shipyard workers.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/multimedia/060105rally.htm

WASHINGTON, DC—Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT)
are calling the Base Closing data made available by the Department of Defense
“insufficient.” Senator Collins, who chairs the Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee and Ranking Member Senator Joseph Lieberman
recently wrote to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on May 27th stating that
DoDs failure to release supporting BRAC information immediately and completely
had undermined the integrity of the process and that, therefore, they would
use their subpoena power to obtain specific documents such as emails, memos,
handwritten notes, if those documents were not immediately made available.
While the Department of Defense has made available certain classified
materials, the documents do not appear to be fully responsive to the Senators’
request and are not useful for base officials in public hearings and meetings.

“It is disappointing that nearly three weeks after the Base Realignment
and Closure List was released by the Department of Defense, most of the
supporting documentation is available only in classified form. This means that
the documents cannot be used at public hearings, public meetings, or at
meetings that are not held in a classified facility by people with security
clearances. In addition, these documents would not be available for
individual bases to use to make their cases in defense of keeping their
facilities open,” said the Senators in a joint statement.

“The documents made available last night, unfortunately, do not appear to
come close to addressing the requests that we made last week. The specific
information that we requested would go a long way toward ensuring the
integrity of the base realignment and closure process. While these documents
are currently undergoing review, we have no indication thus far, that they
satisfy our request. Once the review of these documents is completed, we will
determine whether a subpoena is necessary,” Senators Collins and Lieberman
added.

In response to the Senators’ letter late last week to Secretary Rumsfeld
requesting immediate release of specific BRAC-related data, Acting Deputy
Secretary Gordon England, writing on behalf of Secretary Rumsfeld, outlined
the documents that the Department of Defense have made available to Members of
Congress and those with security clearances. England’s letter, however, does
not address the specific materials Senators Collins and Lieberman have
requested relating to DoD’s possible consideration of factors not authorized
by the BRAC statute.

Even if all of the data released becomes declassified, it does not
include much of what Senators Collins and Lieberman believe the BRAC statute
requires, which they requested last week.

Today was a good day for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The community turned out in a forceful show of support for the 205-year-old yard and its 4,800 workers. A sea of yellow Save Our Shipyard tee-shirts and signs flooded the roadway from the traffic circle up Walker Street to Gate 1.
Crowd estimates range anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 but surely the mere weight of humanity had to make an impression on the four visiting BRAC commissioners who have the power to take the shipyard off the closure list.
The meeting with the commissioners apparently went very well. Community leaders, the Maine and New Hampshire governors and the congressional delegation felt they were able to make their points and were sincerely heard.
Today everything that could be done was done and done well.
But the fight resumes tomorrow.
As Sen. Judd Gregg continues to say at every opportunity he gets, now that the yard is on the list it will be a mighty heavy burden to get it removed.

Photos from today's rally taken by Deb Cram, Rich Beauchesne and Jackie Ricciardi are online:

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/special/6_1special6.htm

Were you at the rally? What were your thoughts and observations? Log-on and post your comments. Have any good photos? Email them to dgladstone@seacoastonline.com

Coverage of today's rally is available at:

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/special/shipyardindex.htm

We hope to add more photos later today.

Portsmouth Herald Front Page Editorial

We don’t often put our opinion on the front page of the paper, but today is no time to hold back. Today is about protecting the people in our communities.

We hope you will attend the rally at 10 o’clock this morning to greet members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission as they arrive at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. We hope you will hold this page high in the air to let them know how you feel. These are the people who can remove the 205-year-old shipyard from death row. They need to see you and hear your shouts of support.

You’ve heard it a million times: If the shipyard closes, the economic impact will be devastating.

But the financial fallout isn’t at the heart of what will be inspiring Seacoast residents to attend this morning’s rally.

It’s the people.

It’s the 4,800-plus employees who have worked so hard to make the Portsmouth facility the best-performing shipyard in the nation. It’s their families, too.

It’s your friend, who will have to move away to find another job.

It’s your child’s baseball coach, a shipyard worker, who will have to volunteer time in another community where gainful employment is available.

It’s the teachers, who could lose their jobs when enrollment shrinks in local schools.

It’s your grandfather, who spent his entire career working at the shipyard. Maybe he’s retired now, or maybe he died years ago; either way, you know it would break his heart to see the place closed.

Many residents may feel no connection whatsoever to the shipyard or its fate. To them, we say this: It’s now or never. If there’s even a small part of you that wishes you could do something - anything - to make a difference, then find a way to take an hour and stand up for the yard and its workers.

It’s simple: You care about the people of the Seacoast, and today is your chance to show it.

Save Our Shipyard Taskforce members are asking the public to begin rallying at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning, in Kittery, Maine to show communitry support for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
The goal is to have thousands of shipyard supporters, wearing yellow Save Our Shipyard t-shirts and carrying signs, line the sidewalks from Gate 1 of the yard, along Walker Street and Route 1 all the way to the traffic circle to greet the four members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission who will be touring the shipyard.
The commissioners, who are determing whether the Defense Department was accurate in placing the yard on a closure list, are expected to land at Pease International Airport at 10:30 and arrive at the shipyard by 11 a.m.
The more community support, the better, officals say.

Parking:
If you can walk to downtown Kittery, you should. Officals are estimating thousands of supporters will be lining the streets, so the less cars the better.
Those who must drive can park their cars at the parking lot at the corner of Route 1 and Walker Street, no earlier than 8 a.m.
The Lion's Club along Route 1 also has opened their parking lot to the public.
Busses transporting members of the public should park at St. Raphael's Catholic Church at the corner of Whipple Road and Wentworth Street.
Police are urging supporters to use the sidewalks and stay off the medians to allow for a smooth traffic flow.

BRAC Commissioners are scheduled to visit the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard around 11 a.m. on Wednesday. The community is encouraged to line up outside the yard that morning starting at 10 a.m. to show their support. For more details on the visit and how to participate in the BRAC Rally pick up Tuesday's edition of the Portsmouth Herald.

Michael McCord wrote a story for the Portsmouth Herald Monday about "dual tracking" - how public officials are working to keep PNS open while making preliminary plans for the future if the shipyard closes. You can read the story at:

www.seacoastonline.com/news/05302005/maine/44949.htm

Additionally:
You can read more NAID/ADC, the research and consulting group mentioned in the story, by visiting www.naid.org. A major conference NAID/ADC conference will take place in Denver beginning June 4 for public officials who may have to deal with the closure of the military facility in their region.

The Department of Defense news service had a story in April about the redevelopment of the Charleston (S.C.) Naval Complex which closed a decade ago. You can find it at: www.pentagon.mil/news/Apr2005/20050419_665.html

The Portland Press Herald reports that closure of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard threatens not just the region's 205-year naval history, our national defense and the local economy but also the future of the region's labor unions.

Below is an AP re-write of the Press-Herald story:

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Union membership stands to take another major hit if the government succeeds in closing the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Unions could lose more than 4,000 members if the shipyard closes. Three major labor organizations covering 2,300 tradespeople, 1,400 engineers and technicians, and 500 secretaries, police officers and other employees would be affected. Average pay at Portsmouth is about $65,000 annually.
Nearly 1,900 of the yard workers live in New Hampshire.
The loss of union workers would continue a trend of organized labor losing its base in Maine. The state had 78,100 union members in 2000. That number fell to 63,700 last year, even as the state’s overall workforce grew, according to federal labor statistics.
Many of the job losses have been in paper-making, shipbuilding and other manufacturing jobs.
“We have suffered some major hits with mill closings, but this would be bigger than those,” said Edward Gorham, president of the Maine AFL-CIO.
The Pentagon has also proposed a major curtailment at Brunswick Naval Air Station and closing the Defense Finance Accounting Service office in Limestone.
The commission must make a final recommendation of which bases to close by Sept. 8. President Bush can either accept or reject the list in its entirety. It then becomes final unless Congress rejects it, also in its entirety.
Members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission plan to visit the Kittery submarine repair facility on Wednesday and the Brunswick base Thursday. Gov. John Baldacci said efforts were under way to also arrange a BRAC visit to the Limestone facility.
Union leaders are reluctant to talk about a future without the Kittery shipyard, focusing instead on trying to get it removed from the list of military bases to be closed nationally.
“I’m not thinking about what would happen to me and the union. I am not going there right now,” said Paul O’Connor, president of the shipyard’s Metal Trades Council, which has 2,300 members.

Day to remember, honor and unite
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/05292005/news/44778.htm

"More than 200 Seacoast patriots honored fallen veterans and pledged to fight for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard during Memorial Day services Saturday in Kittery, Maine. "

Top 10 reasons to keep Naval Shipyard open
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/05292005/news/44780.htm

"Portsmouth Naval Shipyard supporters agree: closing Portsmouth would be similar to performing a lobotomy on the Navy’s one-shipyard concept."

Similar BRAC fight, miles away
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/05292005/world/44875.htm

"HAWTHORNE, Nev. - For more than 50 years, this struggling desert town that proudly calls itself "America’s Patriotic Home" has held what’s billed as the nation’s biggest Armed Forces Day parade."