Robins AFB supporters visit Capitol Hill amid rising concerns

Georgia’s political and military powerbrokers gathered on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to voice their shared support for protecting and promoting Robins Air Force Base, as a discussion of military base closures and realignment begins to percolate in Washington.

The inaugural Robins Air Force Base breakfast in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center was hosted by Georgia Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue along with U.S. Reps. Austin Scott and Sanford Bishop.

The idea for the event was hatched last fall by some organizations that support the base, said Lisa Fruge-Cirilli, the aerospace industry committee chairwoman of the Robins Regional Chamber.

“We all sat around the table about seven months ago and decided that it was time for us to come up to D.C., to our national capital, to visit with our congressmen and bring them some information and education about what goes on at Robins Air Force Base, because it is our job to continue to promote and preserve the future of that installation,” Fruge-Cirilli said at Wednesday’s event. “From there, the idea was born.”

As home to the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), the Air Force Reserve Command and the 78th Air Base Wing, Robins provides crucial support to all branches of the U.S. military around the world. The Warner Robins Air Logistics Center also provides valuable defense technology research and development for the entire Department of Defense.

In addition to its importance as a national defense facility, Robins also serves as a powerful statewide economic catalyst.

The base reports an annual federal payroll of $1.3 billion, annual expenditures of $346 million and nearly 22,000 total personnel, including roughly 6,000 military members and nearly 16,000 civilians.

As one of the largest industrial complexes in the state, Robins has a $2.75 billion annual economic impact on Georgia.

“Robins Air Force Base is what every community would like to have. It’s something we’ve got to make sure we protect,” said Isakson at the breakfast. “There are a lot of reasons to brag about Robins Air Force Base but none more important than to realize this is one of the crown jewels in our state.”

Scott, a member of the House armed services committee, agreed.

“Robins Air Force Base is an essential component to our national defense and the economic engine of middle Georgia,” Scott said. “Strong support from the community is essential to the longevity of Robins.”

Community support was apparent on Wednesday. The list of attendees included Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms; Centerville Mayor John Harley; Tommy Stalnaker, chairman of the Houston County Commission, Brigadier General Joseph Jarrard, the adjutant general of Georgia and former U.S. Secretary of the Navy and current head of the Georgia Defense Initiative, William Ball.

But in a time of budget constraints, Perdue said funding the military has become trickier.

“Washington’s lack of fiscal constraint has led to $19 trillion in debt, and this has directly impacted our ability to adequately fund our military and support their missions,” Perdue told the gathering. “Our military leaders should have the resources they need to successfully combat global threats.”

Keynote speaker Saxby Chambliss, the former two-term U.S. senator from Georgia, said Robins doesn’t face any imminent budget or personnel cuts in the defense authorization bill that’s being crafted.

“If you think in a political year, folks are going to raise their hands and say ‘yeah, we’re going to close some bases,’ it ain’t gonna happen. That being said, get ready,” Chambliss warned, “because ultimately it is going to come.”

Earlier this month, the Pentagon released a 23-page report citing an excess of “infrastructure capacity,” or unneeded military bases and installations. The report says the Department of Defense has 22 percent excess capacity overall, including 33 percent in the Army, 32 percent in the Air Force and 7 percent in the Navy.

The findings demonstrate that “significant excess capacity exists to warrant Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) authorization,” according to a Pentagon letter to Rep. William Thornberry of Texas, chairman of the House armed services committee.

The federal budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense has called for years for a new round of military base closures.

Chambliss said 2005 was the last year that base realignment and closures occurred and “another round is going to come either internally or externally,” he said.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Robins AFB supporters visit Capitol Hill amid rising concerns."