X Close
Editorial: Cause for
joy
Thursday, September 1,
2005
On
Friday, town officials, state legislators and federal representatives were
surprisingly upbeat, despite the news that had come the day before.
The Base
Realignment and Closure Commission surprisingly voted not to expand Hanscom Air
Force Base, as the Pentagon recommended earlier this year. The 1,100 new jobs
that were reportedly heading to Eastern Massachusetts would not come after all,
and in fact, a couple hundred jobs might be taken away, BRAC said Thursday.
Yet, not one
official we talked to was bemoaning the BRAC decision. Instead, they were
breathing sighs of relief that Bedford, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln stillhave
a Hanscom Air Force Base.
It was about
three years ago when area selectmen got the inkling that Hanscom could close.
From that point, they set out to prove the work done at Hanscom Air Force Base
was indeed important to the U.S. Military. They wanted to show that Hanscom was,
as it is now, a base on the cutting edge of new technology, and if expanded,
could only make greater contributions to the region, the nation, and the world.
That they did.
Though BRAC
doesn't feel at this time Hanscom is ready to expand, it hasn't shut out the
possibility of future expansion. And as our neighbors on the Cape can attest to,
having a base that will continue to operate is a victory in itself.
X Close
|
