Just when word was about to come on the fate of the Naval Ordnance Test Unit, based at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Johnson, board chairman of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, lost his Internet connection.

Johnson, and others, learned minutes later what was saved. The naval test unit, also known as NOTU -- and more than 1,000 jobs directly tied to the program -- would be staying in Brevard County. That reversed an earlier Pentagon recommendation to move the operation to Georgia -- and preserved a unit that brings an estimated $65 million to $70 million to the local economy.

"I really thought that we had well less than a 50-50 chance of keeping NOTU," said Johnson, one of many local economic boosters who have spent the last 18 months working to ensure Brevard's military presence escaped efforts by the Pentagon to reduce operations throughout the country.

"We had a real uphill battle," Johnson said.

The battle probably is 99 percent over now.

Under the process known as Base Realignment and Closure or BRAC, only President Bush and Congress can overrule a decision on NOTU, as well as the May 13 directive that keeps Patrick Air Force Base open.

Patrick, with its 12,000 military and contract employees, contributes about $1.2 billion to the local economy.

Losing NOTU, while much smaller than Patrick, still would have been a sizable blow to the local economy.

The approximately
800 private-sector contractor jobs connected with NOTU had an average annual wage of $50,000, which equates to an annual payroll of more than $40 million.

Approximately 200 military personnel are also connected to NOTU.

Economic ripples

Stan Geberer, an economist with Orlando-based Fishkind & Associates, an economic consulting firm, said the loss of NOTU jobs likely would have meant saying goodbye to an additional 800 to 1,000 workers in other sectors, such as construction, restaurants and retail. The total impact could have been at least $70 million a year.

"That ripples through the economy, year after year," Geberer said.

An analysis by Florida Tech's College of Business in Melbourne, showed that losing the NOTU positions would have meant a loss of 320 jobs above the initial 1,000 and an overall economic impact of $65 million a year.

"Any job loss is something you want to avoid," said Mike Slotkin, associate professor of economics at Florida Tech. "But, in the long term, it's hard to believe these people -- bright, witty -- would not be re-employed with their talents by someone in a similar industry."

Fighting for unit

Recognizing NOTU's economic impact -- however large -- local economic-development officials didn't disappear after the Pentagon's decision in May.

After the first round of closures, NOTU was scheduled to move to Kings Bay, Ga., starting sometime in 2008.

The unit supports missile testing on Trident submarines and also has launched ballistic missiles from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

On May 17, four days after the Patrick decision, the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, asked for, and eventually received, a $92,180 grant from Gov. Jeb Bush's office.

The money went to continuing a marketing campaign to keep NOTU in Brevard and also to continue paying Madison Government Affairs, the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm retained by several communities during the BRAC process.

The Economic Development Commission, along with its committee, the Space Coast Defense Alliance, also ensured that 75 people turned out to met BRAC Commissioner James Bilbray, who visited Brevard June 9 to tour the naval operation at Cape
Canaveral.

Added push

Johnson said he believes getting retired Navy Capt. Bill Borger -- the former commander of NOTU who retired two years ago -- to help with the Space Coast Defense Alliance's efforts might have tipped the scales in Brevard's favor.

Borger, now attraction quality services manager at Walt Disney World in Orlando, testified in New Orleans, along with U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, before a regional meeting of base-realignment commissioners on why NOTU should stay put.

Borger told commissioners, in part, that it would be inefficient to move NOTU to Georgia.

"The relocation of Navy test and safety personnel to Kings Bay eliminates day-to-day coordination with their Air Force counterparts, and undermines interaction with expertise resident at the Cape," Borger testified.

Johnson said Borger's address was quite convincing.

"Having Bill Borger speak at that event was important," Johnson said. "I really think things turned in New Orleans."