Issues and Positions

LAEDC Study Shows National Security would be Jeopardized if LA Air Force Base Moved from South Bay

Moving the Base would Cost the DoD $750 million

Los Angeles, California – January 6, 2005–A report by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) released to government officials Thursday shows that closing Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) would have an overwhelmingly negative effect on the nation’s ability to wage technologically driven, 21st Century warfare.

The LAEDC Report highlights include:

Military value – The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at LAAFB is the nation's leading space research, development, and system acquisition entity because of the resources of the Los Angeles area, including intellectual capital provided by nearby research and education institutions, the extensive local aerospace industry, and a highly educated workforce.

• Mission success – Moving SMC would jeopardize the Mission Success required to launch spacecraft to assigned orbits and ensure these spacecraft will operate as designed on-orbit. Mission Success will be jeopardized because a significant portion of the essential workforce will choose not to relocate based on similar situations. Past relocations within the aerospace industry indicate up to 80% attrition would be expected. Such a "brain drain" would cause program delays and possible catastrophic failures.
  
• Cost savings – Previous DoD studies have estimated the cost of moving LAAFB at $750 million. Because moving SMC and The Aerospace Corporation workforces would necessitate construction of new facilities at a receiving location, the cost of relocation is prohibitively expensive. Publicly and privately sponsored facility modernization projects underway at LAAFB will significantly reduce operating costs, thus decreasing annual savings and increasing the time for a return on investment of any move.

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The LAEDC’s conclusion:

"Any decision regarding LAAFB will have lasting implications for the nation’s security and must be carefully considered. The important military value provided by SMC is a direct consequence of its location in Los Angeles, where it is supported by an immense aerospace industry, nationally ranked academic institutions, local aerospace research centers, an educated population, an experienced aerospace workforce, and a strong infrastructure. Based on a review of the BRAC criteria, which place military value as the paramount consideration guiding BRAC realignment and closure decisions, the weight of evidence supports retaining SMC at LAAFB."

For Comment:
Congresswoman Jane Harman, 36th Congressional District, CA
202-225-3275
Assemblyman Mike Gordon, California State Assembly District 53
310-430-4162
Supervisor Don Knabe, 4th District, Los Angeles County
213-974-1095
Hon. John Parsons, LAAFB Regional Alliance Co-Chair and Redondo Beach Councilman
310-372-1171
Col. Ed Peura, USAF (Ret.), Co-Author of LAEDC Competitive Analysis
310-643-5906
Lynn Hogan, Co-Author of LAEDC Competitive Analysis and CFO of LAEDC
213-236-4826

For a complete copy of the 48 page LAEDC analysis, please contact Mike Bilello @ 213-486-6560 for a fax or e mail @ mbilello@mww.com for an e-copy.

Background:

The LAAFB Regional Alliance is the L.A. region’s voice, advocating for the retention of the Los Angeles Air Force Base. The LAAFB Regional Alliance was formed by local government, civic and business leaders in an effort to protect the Los Angeles Air Force Base as the Department of Defense begins the next round of Base Realignments and Closures (BRAC).

Of the over four thousand five hundred employees at the LAAFB less than one thousand three hundred and seventy are military personnel, the remaining over three thousand are civilian.

The Aerospace corps employs nearly three thousand civilians in their adjacent facility.
The Space and Missile Systems Center at LAAFB, located in El Segundo, CA, manages $60 billion in contracts and employs 90% of the people involved in military space work. LAAFB oversees the development of the next generation of ballistic missiles, rockets and satellites being built by LA’s aerospace/defense contractors to guide U.S. forces in the Global War on Terror. LAAFB’s programs include the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite navigation system, the latest space-based radars, infrared satellites used to track enemy missiles and some of our nation’s most secretive space weapons systems.