Ellsworth expansion should benefit area

By the Journal Editorial Board | Wednesday, September 03, 2008

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A proposed air space expansion by Ellsworth Air Force Base has come under fire from some area ranchers and landowners as being invasive, damaging to the environment and for, they say, being counter-productive to their ranching operations.

Late in May the Air Force proposed an expansion of the Powder River Complex. The proposed expansion — increasing the current space four-fold — would cover parts of South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

We support the Air Force expansion and trust Air Force personnel can work with affected landowners to address their concerns.

An Air Force spokesman said the expansion wouldn’t result in more flights, but rather it would provide more realistic training space allowing pilots to “train like they fight.” The nation is fighting on two fronts; training military pilots in the most realistic fashion possible only makes sense. 

And beyond the more realistic training, the expansion makes sense for Rapid City, the Black Hills region and the state of South Dakota.

In 2005, the state learned how fragile Ellsworth Air Force Base could be. That was the year Ellsworth was recommended for closure by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

Ellsworth is one of the regions largest employers with more than 5,500 people working and 4,000 active military personnel. The economic impact to western South Dakota in the event of the base closing was estimated at $278 million.

The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 has specific criteria to judge military value of the nation’s military bases. Those criteria include current and future mission capabilities, the availability and condition of land and airspace, the extent and timing of potential costs and saving involved in closing the base.

Key strategies against finding the base on the BRAC list are multiple missions and expansion, such as is being proposed in the Powder River Basin. The more Ellsworth is doing, the less likely it is to find itself on the BRAC list in the future.

Earlier this month, the director of the Ellsworth Task Force said the expansion at Powder River could be vital for the Air Force, providing better grounds for the Air Force to train with modern weapons systems. We want to see that training done here, not in Nevada or Utah where it’s currently being done. Not only would there be a cost savings, but there would be added value to Ellsworth.

If the base did wind up on a BRAC list again, the region may not be as fortunate as it was in 2005. At that time, the state’s congressional delegation – Sen. Tim Johnson, Rep. Stephanie Herseth and Sen. John Thune – pulled off what many thought couldn’t be done: Getting Ellsworth off the BRAC list.

It was a defining moment for the South Dakota delegation and a good reminder to city and state leaders that Ellsworth’s future wasn’t guarenteed.

Rapid City and the Black Hills region would have survived the loss of Ellsworth Air Force Base even though its closure would have sent ripples through the local economy.

Keeping the base insulated from future closure lists is important for the economy, the region and the state.