SCR-16, As Adopted Senate, May 11, 2005
Substitute for Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 16
A concurrent resolution to memorialize the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission to validate the requirement for Michigan military facilities being examined during the current round of the Base Realignment and Closure process.
Whereas, Congress has authorized the examination of our military bases in order to determine which facilities are necessary for national defense and which are excess. Known as Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), several rounds of this process have taken place since 1988. With tens of thousands of American military personnel scheduled to redeploy from Europe back to the continental United States during this decade, we must not reduce our military base structure without considering the long-range ramifications. The 2005 BRAC round is also being carried out while our forces fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Additional forces are deployed worldwide with allies to combat terrorism. Decisions made this year will affect our ability to project and sustain power in this fight for years to come; and
Whereas, The Detroit Arsenal, located in Warren, is the home to a number of commands that have a direct impact on the safety of our soldiers and Marines now fighting. Commands located at the Detroit Arsenal support the development of armor kits for our Humvees and other systems. Logistics support from the Detroit Arsenal encompasses virtually all ground combat and tactical vehicles and related vehicle systems, and enables all our services to carry out their missions. Our nation's laboratory for advanced ground systems automotive-military technology is located here and conducts work critical to our forces, such as mine countermeasure projects. The Detroit Arsenal is also critical for the development of the Army's Future Force, a networked system of systems designed to harness the Revolution in Military Affairs to create a deployable and lethal Army capable of defeating any enemy anywhere in the world; and
Whereas, Selfridge Air National Guard Base, located in Harrison Township, is the home for a number of active and reserve component units from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Army, including United States Army Garrison, Selfridge. This base is home to F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, C-130 Hercules transports, and KC-135 Stratotankers, as well as Coast Guard and Army helicopters. The United States Customs and Border Protection also operates out of Selfridge. As the only military installation in the continental United States that is located on an international waterway, the base serves homeland defense missions directly. This multi-service base could also host many of the troops and their families that will return to America from overseas bases. In an era when the military strives to fight as a joint team, Selfridge is a model of operating in a joint environment; and
Whereas, The Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, located in Alpena, provides year-round realistic training to increase joint operating capabilities of the units that train there. Alpena is the only facility in the continental United States that boasts the new Aircraft Maneuver and Instrumentation pod system, a training tool that better prepares pilots for combat by enhancing the realism of training experience. The center is also home to military medical assets, including the Air National Guard Medical Readiness Training School. It is the only center with the new 25-bed Expeditionary Medical Support System. Close to Camp Grayling, the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center provides capabilities unmatched east of the Mississippi River; and
Whereas, The Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, located in Battle Creek, hosts the 110th Fighter Wing. This wing has deployed the "Killer Bees" of the 172nd Fighter Squadron to support American and allied troops in Kosovo and in Iraq. The A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft of the squadron fly low and slow to bring Air Force firepower to bear when and where soldiers and Marines need help. The squadron has proven its worth and validated the faith we place in our Air National Guard to fly and fight alongside their active component comrades. In addition, the base provides anti-terrorism and hijacking response training to fulfill a homeland defense mission; and
Whereas, The Camp Grayling Maneuver Training Center, located in Grayling, is the largest military installation east of the Mississippi River. The 147,000 acres of Camp Grayling provide ample room for training, from small arms to artillery fire. The camp's state-of-the-art tank gunnery complex allows our Army's mechanized forces to maintain a high level of training. Active and reserve component units from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps make use of what is probably the best joint force training center in the eastern United States to hone their warfighting skills. In addition, Camp Grayling houses equipment for the Ohio and Indiana National Guard as well as Michigan National Guard equipment. As a major facility located away from large population centers, Camp Grayling is well suited to provide training opportunities for special operations and anti-terror preparations; and
Whereas, The Hart-Dole-Inouye Federal Center, located in Battle Creek, supports Department of Defense logistics efforts. Getting supplies from locations around the world to the field is a demanding task that must be carried out flawlessly to keep planes flying, vehicles moving, and ships at sea. The facility also assists other federal agencies and international governmental agencies. It is a key facility that promotes efficient use of government property by transferring excess military property to federal, state, and local governments as well as other qualified organizations. Identifying productive uses for property that might otherwise be discarded makes taxpayer dollars go farther; and
Whereas, The Fort Custer Army National Guard Base, located in Battle Creek, is the home of one of our state's Rapid Response Teams, which were created to help civil authorities cope with terrorism on American soil. The base provides valuable company-level training that is crucial to maintaining the fighting edge of American reserve forces. It is one of the most heavily used training facilities in the Midwest. Over the last three years, we have witnessed the decisive advantage that highly trained troops have in battle. With National Guard and reserve troops an integral part of the global war on terror, facilities such as Fort Custer are vital to our national security; and
Whereas, Military facilities located in Michigan take advantage of their location to leverage the state's unique geography as a border state and relationships with the automotive industry, leading academic institutions, and suppliers to develop new dual-use concepts that are mutually beneficial to the military and the partners in these projects. For Michigan, a state that is challenged by an unemployment rate that is one of the highest in the nation, closing military facilities here would further hurt a region that has critical industrial base assets that will undoubtedly be needed in the future; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That we memorialize the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission to validate the requirement for Michigan military facilities being examined during the current round of the Base Realignment and Closure process; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Michigan congressional delegation, and the members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
R 0153 '05(S-1)