BRAC votes to move Air Guard wing from Nashville

But that decision could be voided by a lawsuit filed by Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen challenging the federal government’s ability to close a unit that is essential to Tennessee’s disaster-response system.

The governor of Pennsylvania won a similar suit on Friday, when a federal judge ruled that the Pentagon’s recommendation to close a National Guard Base there was “null and void.” But after more legal wrangling and a likely appeal, Pennsylvania could still lose its base.

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted unanimously on a measure that affected several Guard bases nationwide, including Nashville’s. The 118th Airlift Wing’s planes would be moved to bases in Illinois and Kentucky, and its medical squadron to Texas.

In the flurry of last-minute resolutions discussed and voted on by the commission, the status of a proposed relocation of several KC-135 tankers from other states to Knoxville’s 134th Air Refueling wing was unclear, said Brig. Gen. Russ Cotney, assistant adjutant general for the Tennessee Air National Guard.

The Nashville base is a hot political issue and tempers flared after the announcement. Retired Col. Don Deering, executive director of the Tennessee National Guard Association, said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., did not do enough to preserve the base.

“It’s a slap in the face for a mighty proud unit who’s answered the call in every war and I’m sorely disappointed that the Senate majority leader didn’t weigh in and help us any more than he did,” Deering said. “I’d have liked to see him make a personal visit and see him on TV” expressing support for the unit.

A Frist spokesman responded that the senator had worked hard on the issue and would continue to fight to keep the unit viable into the future.

“Sen. Frist has been a leader in the delegation fighting on behalf of the 118th and is working hard with the delegation to ensure that the best possible next mission is available for the 118th,” Frist spokesman Nick Smith said.

Frist wrote a letter to the commission chairman on behalf of the base, met with the head of the National Guard and sent staff members to escort commission members when they visited the base, Smith said.

Part of the conflict stems from a partisan divide over Bredesen’s suit. The suit is supported by four of Tennessee’s five Democrats in Congress, but both Frist and fellow Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander have come out against it, arguing that the nationwide base realignment process is too important to be tampered with.

“No community likes to see a base closure, but the nation needs an orderly process for modernizing its military infrastructure,” Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said in a statement. “I am deeply concerned about the future of the 118th, but I did not join the lawsuit because I don’t want to undermine that process.”

“I think that was probably partisan politics more than anything else,” Cotney said of the divide over the lawsuit.

In the Pennsylvania case, Gov. Ed Rendell said he commands the unit’s activities 90 percent of the time, as it responds to floods, errant planes and other emergencies. U.S. District Judge John R. Padova sided with the governor and said the Pentagon’s recommendation is “null and void.”

“We’re encouraged by the federal judge’s ruling today,” said Bredesen spokeswoman Rachel Lassiter. “Regardless of the outcome, the governor will remain fully committed to fighting to keep the 118th Airlift Wing in Tennessee.”

Tennessee has not yet filed for expedited review in the case, which would otherwise be unlikely to receive a response until after the recommendations have been passed along to President Bush. Lassiter said Friday that the state was waiting for the commission’s decision before weighing its option.

The commission’s vote isn’t the last word. It could be overturned if Congress or President Bush rejected the entire national plan, or if Bush sent the plans back for revision.

But it is a crucial step. Few of the commission’s decisions are likely to be overturned, especially at the guard level. And the Pentagon is unlikely to respond to the lawsuit before the recommendations reach the president’s desk in September.

The governor of Illinois has filed a similar lawsuit.

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On the Net:

Pentagon’s base closing plan: http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/

Base closing commission: http://www.brac.gov