7/31 BRAC Letters to the editor

BRAC panel should see process through

I can’t believe four Base Realignment and Closure commissioners decided to recuse themselves from voting on issues that pertain to their home state.

These commissioners were appointed by the president to perform a task that requires them to be fair and impartial. Here is a quote directly from the BRAC Commission’s Web site (www.brac.gov):

"The BRAC Commission was created to provide an objective, thorough, accurate, and non-partisan review and analysis, through a process determined by law, of the list of bases and military installations which the Department of Defense (DoD) has recommended be closed and/or realigned. The DoD list of recommendations was formally presented to the BRAC Commission on May 13th, 2005."

I did not read anything in this document that said any commissioner could bow out of doing the job he/she was appointed to perform. The commissioners are being paid to perform the duties assigned to them by public law and I for one expect them to accomplish each and every task assigned.

I also expect that the Commission’s review and votes be based solely on the facts and a fair and non-partisan vote.

We all have opinions and some may think the commissioners were not fair to one base or another. However, only the commissioners have all the facts about each base on the closure list. The only way to be truly fair on any vote for closure, realignment or keeping a base open will be by voting on these facts. There will be public grumblings no matter how the Commission votes on these issues.

I urge the commissioners to get a backbone and do the job our president appointed them to do.

All of the bases on the DoD's BRAC closure list will benefit from a fair and impartial review.

Patrick F. Flanigen

Clovis

Base supporters only concerned with money

I am shocked at the concern from Randy Harris, Doc Stewart and Chad Lydick over the closing of Cannon Air Force Base.

I was an airman out there from 1966 to 1968 and the people of Clovis treated us like dogs.

We were called “airman dog,” “baby killer” and “GI jerk.”

Why now the change in attitude? Must it be over money?

Dan Smith

Strawberry Plains, Tenn.