John Thune has responded to the Gannett/USA Today editorial that advocated the closing of Ellsworth:
'Common sense' to maintain South Dakota base
by Senator John Thune
USA TODAY's editorial "Cold War drags on — forever" ignored facts for fiction. When the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) voted 8-to-1 to remove Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., from the Pentagon's closure list, it wasn't sparing a "costly" base. BRAC members neither defied "common sense" nor were "absurd." This decision, if signed into law, would save tax dollars (Our view, Military needs debate, Wednesday).
The BRAC staff presented overwhelming data from the commission, the General Accounting Office (GAO) and even the Pentagon that proved closing Ellsworth would not result in a single penny saved.
What defied common sense was USA TODAY's omission of the facts. The Defense Department claimed that closing Ellsworth would save $1.8 billion over 20 years. This was flat wrong. A GAO report proved that 60% of the projected savings simply did not exist. The Pentagon also failed to calculate enormous costs associated with consolidated training flights and cleanup and construction, which further reduced savings by hundreds of millions of dollars. The end result: Closing Ellsworth would cost almost $19 million.
The editorial went on to suggest that politics must have "played a role." If so, how does USA TODAY explain that two Democrat appointees on the commission voted to save Ellsworth while the one dissenting commissioner was appointed by the Senate Republican leader?
Ellsworth is a premier Air Force base with exceptional military personnel who are aiding our effort to win the war on terror. Common sense would suggest that closure would have been absurd.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., Washington
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