That was the reaction of Harry Hewitt after the Base Realignment and Closure Commission on Thursday rejected the Defense Department's recommendation to move an Air Force computer service from Montgomery to Massachusetts.

Hewitt has good reason to feel relieved. He is vice president of Sumaria Systems, which services Headquarters Operations and Sustainment Systems Group at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base's Gunter Annex.

The BRAC commission, in a 7-1-1 vote, saved the Montgomery area from the loss of OSSG, which currently is pumping more than $750 million into the area economy.

The commission's decision also keeps thousands of jobs from being eliminated or moved to Hanscom Air Force Base near Boston.

"I've got 50 people out there," Hewitt said.

Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright credited local, state and federal partnerships for the good news.

"It's the equivalent of maintaining a Hyundai here in our city, and I'm delighted," the mayor said, referring to the new $1 billion automobile plant at Hope Hull.

Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce President Randy George said he was "ecstatic" about OSSG remaining secure in the Capital City.

"It's just been a magnificent effort that's really paid off," he said.

Paul Hankins, Montgomery's consultant on BRAC issues, was quick to note the success despite what he said were some skeptics in the news media as well as "stones thrown" in Wednesday's Montgomery Advertiser.

The latter was a reference to the newspaper's quoting City Councilwoman Janet May as saying Montgomery was diplomatic while Massachusetts played hardball. She cited a more than $240 million bond issue by the Massachusetts Legislature to improve Hanscom to get OSSG.

May said she was glad the BRAC commission majority agreed OSSG should stay put, but she stood firm on her statements to the newspaper.

Bright said he believes the BRAC commission vote sent a message that the Massachusetts incentives didn't work.

"You can't buy these jobs," he said.

Hankins said he and others were being told behind the scenes that money wasn't a factor in the arguments.

Hankins, himself a retired Air Force brigadier general, said what paid big dividends for Montgomery was having residents who know Air Force leaders and know what the Air Force really wanted.

Bowen Ballard is a Montgomery real estate executive, retired major general and member of the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee. He was low-key in his comments Thursday.

"It was a great team effort, and there's more potential," Ballard said.

Another factor in Montgomery's success was cultivating relations with BRAC Commissioner Harold Gehman, a retired Navy admiral. On Thursday, he led the call to keep OSSG in Alabama's capital city.

Gehman toured Maxwell-Gunter in May.

"He saw the importance of the work they were doing in servicing the warfighters out in the field, and that strikes home with an admiral whose full life has been spent doing that kind of stuff," Hankins said.

Jim Walker is director of Alabama Homeland Security and Gov. Bob Riley's liaison on military issues. He cited Montgomery's presentation to a BRAC regional meeting in June and the governor's own recent meeting with BRAC commissioners.

"You could just sense that we have turned the corner," Walker said.