Future of Little Rock Air Force Base, with Closures in the Works

A multi-million dollar economic impact and millions of dollars worth of construction could put Little Rock Air Force Base in good shape -- to avoid a round of base closings the Department of Defense could announce next week. The base says its economic impact of $580 million on Jacksonville has meant over 3,000 jobs created, 90% of the base`s personnel buy homes or rent apartments in the city, and the base spends $177 miilion in the community. In two years, LRAFB has received three C-130J`s, and four more are on the way. "[It] enables our air crews to fly higher, farther, and faster while carrying more cargo," explained Capt. John Sheets, from LRAFB. The C-130J program makes the mission at Little Rock Air Force Base as essential to the military, as the base itself is to the city surrounding it. "One of the largest employers, if not the largest employer," explained Mark Perry, Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. But it`s not just the planes or the jobs that make it valuable. For example, traffic from the base makes up over 40% of clients at Kareer Kids Day Care. "It takes two minutes to get here from the base gate," owner Cara Walloch said. And it`s recent economic impact at $580 million is $65 million more than the year before. "Revenue that people here generate through payroll, rent, construction, supplies secured in the local area," are all where that money is spent, Capt. Sheets said. The Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce says in recent years the city has been positioning itself to stay off the Department of Defense`s list of cuts, for exmple, with new businesses and making sure the base has room to grow. "If the base is looking at bringing a particular mission to Jacksonville and they say we can`t because you have this concentration of people here, let`s look somewhere else, we`ve prevented that concentration of people," Perry explained. And Representative Vic Snyder, (D) 2nd District, says that could mean a lot when other military bases are realigned or closed. "Because that means a base may not be closed, but may have a mission that`s shifted to that base. So, I think Little Rock Air Force Base is in good shape," Snyder said. Millions of dollars in construction projects are already in the works for LRAFB: a $2.4 million dollar C-130J training facility, 2 dorms totalling $9.1 million, hospital renovations for $4.7 million, and security upgrades to the tune of over $6 million. The base is celebrating its 50th anniversary in October this year. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is expected to release a list of possible realignments and closures Friday. Department of Defense officials have said any community losing a base, could have a lot to recover from. Back in 1991, Eaker Air Froce Base was closed in Blytheville, Arkansas, an 777 jobs were lost, but 509 were created, and the city has recovered by 66%. The government estimated a 13% unemployment rate as of July 2004, one of four bases to close but still have double-digit unemployment rates.