Pam Slater-Price-Price, District 3 Supervisor, County of San Diego

PRESS RELEASE
March 1, 2005

Slater-Price Supports Efforts to Keep Military Bases in San Diego County
Gives $15,000 to Economic Development Corporation for Lobbying

Supervisor Pam Slater-Price has joined with the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce to protect area military facilities from being closed by giving the EDC $15,000 from the county's Community Projects grant program. The funds will be used to lobby the federal government to keep existing bases in the county operational as the Department of Defense (DOD) begins its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) deliberations this year.

"San Diego County's military presence represents more than just an economic benefit to our region. Our sailors and Marines are an important part of our culture and history. More importantly, they stand ready to defend our nation when duty calls. We want to keep them here forever," said Slater-Price.

San Diego County is home to one of the world's largest complex of military bases, with more than 80 separate facilities. Approximately one-fifth of all active duty U.S. Navy and Marine Corps personnel are stationed within the county.

The Department of Defense conducted four previous rounds of BRAC in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995. The 1995 BRAC round brought the Navy Space and Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) to San Diego and the loss of the Naval Training Center (NTC). With an estimated 25-percent excess in military facilities, the DOD received permission from Congress in 2001 to begin another round of BRAC this year. This round of BRAC will emphasize joint operations by combining military branches at the same location for greater efficiencies.

The EDC is the only community-based organization in San Diego County that has secured Washington DC-based representation during this round of BRAC. The EDC's efforts will include analytic work on the need for bases that are either listed for closure or may be at risk. The County of San Diego, San Diego DEFCOMM, and the Economic Research Bureau of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce have also prepared studies that detail the social and economic impacts of the military and defense industry in San Diego.