Executive Correspondence – Letter dtd 08/12/2005 to Chairman Principi from Janet Napolitano (Gov AZ) Page: 1 of 2
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Executive Correspondence
DCN 7624
STATE OF ARIZONA
JANET NAPOLITANO OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR MAIN PHONE: 602-542-4331
GOVERNOR 1700 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, PHOENIX, AZ 85007 FACSIMILE: 602-542-7601
August 12, 2005
The Honorable Anthony J. Principi
Chairman, 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission
2521 South Clark Street, Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22202
Dear Chairman Principi:
On behalf of the State of Arizona, thank you again for the difficult work you have
undertaken and the time and effort you have dedicated to the BRAC process. Arizonans are
particularly appreciative of the opportunity you extended for me to testify at the BRAC
Commission's Regional Hearing in Clovis, New Mexico on June 24, 2005.
As you draft your final recommendations to the President, I respectfully request that those
recommendations include reconsideration of the Department of Defense (DoD) recommendation
regarding the relocation of the Air Force Research Lab (Lab) in Mesa, Arizona. I ask that you
instead consider a recommendation to retain the Lab and its assets at its current location.
The proactive steps taken by Arizona over the last decade have enhanced not only the
military value of the Lab, but also its role within the integrated network of military facilities in
Arizona. As I stated in my oral testimony, we believe that the reasons that led the 1995 BRAC
Commission to reverse the 1991 BRAC recommendation to relocate the Lab are even more accurate
and compelling today:
* The Lab was and still is largely a civilian operation well-suited to a stand-alone
configuration;
* The Lab's proximity to Luke Air Force Base provided and still provides a ready source of
pilots who support research activities as consultants and subjects. That relationship now
extends to all US military services in the Southwest as well as allied armed forces in Asia
and Europe.
*, The Lab's facilities were and are consolidated, secure and well-suited to research activities.
Today, those facilities remain secure but now constitute the centerpiece for new, adjacent
facilities allowing close R&D activities with Arizona State University and private sector.
* The Lab's activities were and are consistent with the community's plans for redevelopment,which included a university and research park in place of Williams Air Force Base, which
was closed in the 1991 BRAC round. Not only have these plans become reality but have
created additional, unforeseen opportunities including an enhanced ASU technical focus and
private sector investments complimentary to both the lab and ASU.
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Executive Correspondence – Letter dtd 08/12/2005 to Chairman Principi from Janet Napolitano (Gov AZ), letter, August 17, 2005; (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc20918/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.