BRAC Commission - Public Affairs Page: 1 of 12
View a full description of this text.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
DCN: 12196
BRAC 2005
South Dakota Regional Hearing
June 21, 2005 - 1:00 p.m.
Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Welcome, call to order, announcements, swearing in of witnesses
Introductory Testimony, quality of life video .......................................................Jim McKeon, Colonel, USAF (Retired)
Military Value Testimony ................... .................................................General John Michael Loh, USAF (Retired)
Military Value Testimony ........................................ ......................Lt. Gen Thad Wolfe, USAF(Retired)
Ellsworth Task Force (ETF) Military Value Assessment .......... ...........................................................Jim McKeon
Ellsworth Task Force (ETF) Military Value Assessment ...................................... Pat McElgunn, Colonel USAF (Retired)
Quality of Life Testimony ............................................................. Jim Shaw, Rapid City Mayor
Congressional Testimony ....................................... ......................................... Tim Johnson, US Senator
Congressional Testimony ............................... ..................... John Thune, US Senator
Congressional Testimony .................................................................................. Stephanie Herseth, US Representative
Socio-Economic Testimony .......................................... .........................................Sidney Goss, Professor
ETF Assessm ent Testim ony (conclude) ............................................................................................................. Jim M cKeon
Governor's Testimony and closing comments .................... . .............................. Mike Rounds, SD Governor
Q & A for Commissioners
Adjourn
BACKGROUND:
According to the official BRAC website, the Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) Commission's goal "is to assist the American public, including
interested stakeholders, to fully understand the open and transparent process through which work is conducted."
Congress established the 2005 BRAC Commission to ensure the integrity of the base closure and realignment process. As directed by law, the
Commission reviews and analyzes the list of military installation recommendations issued May 13, 2005 by the Department of Defense (DoD). The
Commission's mission is to assess whether the DoD recommendations substantially deviated from the Congressional criteria used to evaluate each
military base. While giving priority to the criteria of military value, the Commission will also take into account the human impact of the base closures
and will consider the possible economic, environmental, and other effects on the surrounding communities.
The Commission can also add installations to the closure or realignment list recommended to the President, but only through a process in which
seven of nine Commissioners vote to do so, the Secretary of Defense is properly notified in writing 15 days prior to the proposed change, and only
after at least two Commissioners physically visit the military installation in question.
The Commission will submit its findings and recommendations to the President of the United States on or before September 8, 2005.
MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION PRESENT IN RAPID CITY:
There are nine members of the BRAC Commission. Present at the June 21 meeting are:
SAMUEL SKINNER is the retired Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of USF Corporation, one of the nation's leading
transportation and logistics companies. He also served from 1993-1998 as President of Commonwealth Edison Company and its holding
company, Unicom Corporation. Prior to joining Commonwealth Edison, Mr. Skinner served as Chief of Staff to President George H.W. Bush.
Prior to his White House service, he served in the President's Cabinet for nearly three years as Secretary of Transportation. As Secretary, Mr.
Skinner was credited with numerous successes, including the development of the President's National Transportation Policy and the
development and passage of landmark aviation and surface transportation legislation. Mr. Skinner is currently an Adjunct Professor of
Management and Strategy at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He served as a member of the Illinois National
Guard and the US Army reserve from 1957-68.
PHILIP COYLE is a Senior Advisor to the President of the Center for Defense Information and a defense consultant. Formerly, the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Test and Evaluation, (1994-2001), Mr. Coyle is a recognized expert on U.S. and worldwide military research,
development and testing During the 1995 BRAC, he served as the Co-Chairman of the DoD Joint Cross-Service Group for Test and
Evaluation. Prior to serving at the Pentagon, Mr. Coyle served as Laboratory Associate Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
in Livermore, California, and as Deputy to the Laboratory Director. During the Carter Administration, Mr. Coyle served as Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs in the Department of Energy. With more than 40 years of experience in testing and test-related
matters, he was selected by Aviation Week magazine as one of its "Laurels" honorees for 2000, a select group of people recognized for
outstanding contributions in the aerospace field.
JAMES BILBRAY's primary area of practice is government relations and administrative law. Former Congressman Bilbray received his B.A. in
Government and Public Administration from the American University in Washington, DC in 1962, and his JD from the Washington College of
Law in 1964 He is a Nevada native, and prior to being elected to the US. House of Representatives in 1987, was a Nevada State Senator,
where he served as Chairman on the Taxation Committee and was a member of the Judiciary Committee. During his four terms in the US
Congress, he served as Chairman of the Small Business Sub-Committee on Taxation, Tourism and Procurement. He was also a member of
the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, and Intelligence Committees. He joined the firm of Kummer Kaempfer Bonner & Renshaw as Of Counsel
in 1996, where he specialized in dealing with local, state and federal issues. In 2001, he received an honorary doctorate of laws from theUniversity of Nevada Las Vegas for his extensive contributions to the State and U.S. government.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
United States. Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. BRAC Commission - Public Affairs, text, January 5, 2006; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc24954/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.