BRUNSWICK, Maine --The base closing commission voted Wednesday to close the Brunswick Naval Air Station, a move that eliminates more than 4,000 military and civilian jobs along with New England's last active duty military airfield.
Rejecting the Pentagon's recommendation to scale back the base but keep it open because of its strategic location, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted 7-2 to eliminate the base altogether so it can be redeveloped.
Supporters said the decision leaves the region without an airfield for homeland defense and for surveillance of the North Atlantic sea lanes.
"This decision is deeply disturbing and a travesty for the men and women who have made Brunswick Naval Air Station both exceptional and indispensable to our national security and for Maine's economy," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.
Under the Pentagon's proposal, the air station would have been stripped of its aircraft and have its status downgraded to "Naval Air Facility" while retaining the capability of an active-duty airfield.
____________________ Captain Morgan and Dr.Pepper are my homies....
Leave it to GW and his henchman Rums-felt-me-up. Notice that Florida and Texas are pretty well guarded though. Sorry to hear about this Scott, hopefully it won't be too much of a hard time for you.
Im an airfieldian.....LOL This area is so hypocritical about this base..keep the base casue it gives us money....but protest everything it stands for. Retarded ass mainers.....Alot of the same people are on both sides keep it for money...but we hate the military. (end rant)
Joey-not a big inconvienance on my part i was due to roll soon anyway. Im just glad everyone else military will see another state. One alot less liberal and one more willing to appreciate the military.....telling me I cant use a military ID to buy a 6-pack...cause its not a state ID...I heart BRAC.
____________________ Captain Morgan and Dr.Pepper are my homies....
wow, that's a load of bull, I always took military ID as a cashier. As for the other stuff...what can I say, I don't hate the military I think they are a vital part of our country and it's safety. I don't agree with the war in Iraq, but as I've said to a Spec Ops Vietnam Vet that works with me, and he agrees, this is turning into another Vietnam, and supporting your troops doesn't mean putting them in harms way just for the sake of it. I support the troops, I don't support the war, there is a big difference there. I for once want someone to take a look at that phrase and realize what it means, supporting your troops means hoping to keep them safe, not just running them out on the battlefield to get shot at. I heard on the news today that 1500 more are being deployed to Iraq, see why this is starting to sound more like Vietnam.
Enemies that don't care for human life (Check)
War that can't be won (Check)
Keep sending money, and troops into that godforsaken place (Check, go GW)
Claim we are getting closer when we aren't (Check, seems like every week GW)
The Vet I work with is furious about this, he spent a good deal of his life trying to figure out which side the US was working for in Vietnam, and he wonders about it today too, are we sure this war is about Iraq and not just about what's buried under the sand.
RPIJG wrote: wow, that's a load of bull, I always took military ID as a cashier. As for the other stuff...what can I say, I don't hate the military I think they are a vital part of our country and it's safety. I don't agree with the war in Iraq, but as I've said to a Spec Ops Vietnam Vet that works with me, and he agrees, this is turning into another Vietnam, and supporting your troops doesn't mean putting them in harms way just for the sake of it. I support the troops, I don't support the war, there is a big difference there. I for once want someone to take a look at that phrase and realize what it means, supporting your troops means hoping to keep them safe, not just running them out on the battlefield to get shot at. I heard on the news today that 1500 more are being deployed to Iraq, see why this is starting to sound more like Vietnam.
Enemies that don't care for human life (Check)
War that can't be won (Check)
Keep sending money, and troops into that godforsaken place (Check, go GW)
Claim we are getting closer when we aren't (Check, seems like every week GW)
The Vet I work with is furious about this, he spent a good deal of his life trying to figure out which side the US was working for in Vietnam, and he wonders about it today too, are we sure this war is about Iraq and not just about what's buried under the sand.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
audiojunkie wrote: Im not talking about supporting the war..Im talking about supporting us and protesting us. We just do a job.I believe that when/if protests occur, people are not protesting the armed forces, or the troops. They are/will be protesting the administrative policies, that sent them into harms way.
____________________ If you can't read this, you're illiterate.
Mr. Versatile wrote: audiojunkie wrote: Im not talking about supporting the war..Im talking about supporting us and protesting us. We just do a job.I believe that when/if protests occur, people are not protesting the armed forces, or the troops. They are/will be protesting the administrative policies, that sent them into harms way.
let's hope this is true, but never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups
____________________ 04 ZY ZX3/2.3L PZEV/K&N Typhoon CAI/FS race exaust/SVT suspension/black 18" L8 rims/FS front stress bar/steeda STS/black projector LED headlights (HID)/black alteza taillights/smoked side markers/euro upper front grille/euro LED 3rd brake lights/
Mr. Versatile wrote: audiojunkie wrote: Im not talking about supporting the war..Im talking about supporting us and protesting us. We just do a job.I believe that when/if protests occur, people are not protesting the armed forces, or the troops. They are/will be protesting the administrative policies, that sent them into harms way.Well dont do it front of the base making me late for work.
____________________ Captain Morgan and Dr.Pepper are my homies....
Well, you know, I think this sux, but if there is any consolation one of the, if not the oldest Naval Shipyard in this country, with stellar marks on safety and productivity (Portsmouth) is staying open.
I do think the Brunswick closing is sad and it's going to hurt that area.
Maine really cannot afford to continue to lose businesses. Maine has some of the highest small business taxes in the country and I don't blame ppl. for leaving or not chosing Maine as a place to keep their business. Until Maine takes a long hard look at what they are doing to themselves by not allowing companies to get in there and establish themselves there won't be much improvement, except in the tourism industry.
I am a Mainer, pure blooded, born & raised and if there was work worth my time there that paid as well as I get paid here then maybe I'd stay, but the income tax, sales tax, property tax and other taxes are just too much to make me come home. I miss it, don't get me wrong, but it's just a place that needs to catch up with the times and get rid of these old crusties on the local boards who keep saying, no we don't want this and we don't want that then bitch about how little industry they have.
enough of that, but I agree, I support my troops and hope like hell this ends and they can come home. This is a war that cannot be won, just like vietnam. GWB is an idiot and he's certainly making a name for himself...war monger, zealot, etc. comes to my mind.
I guess many would say I have a liberal way of thinking, but I certainly don't believe we need to disarm and the whole world will follow suit. That's just stupid.
We need the defenses we have to keep the rest of the world in balance. Do I agree with sending our troops over to push democracy onto coutries that may not want it. I also know that there are evil people out there just like Sadaam and Osama who need to be taken out. That should not just rest on the shoulders of The US however.
Best of luck to all those who have lost a job, there are many out there other than in New England that will be on the hunt for employment.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
audiojunkie wrote: Mr. Versatile wrote: audiojunkie wrote: Im not talking about supporting the war..Im talking about supporting us and protesting us. We just do a job.I believe that when/if protests occur, people are not protesting the armed forces, or the troops. They are/will be protesting the administrative policies, that sent them into harms way.Well dont do it front of the base making me late for work.
I love this quote, it makes sense.
audiojunkie wrote: maines taxes are stupid but they need the money cause the lack of people living here. I cant wait to move.
This is exactly what I'm talking about. They shut something down and ppl. have to move. Leave the state because Maine just is NOT friendly to business at all. You have to be in the tourism industry to make any money on the eastern coast and cut wood or pick blueberries & potatos everywhere else.
I can say from experience, watching Portland go from a bustling town when I was young, to a dead ghost town in the 80's and then back up to a booming downtown area again in the late 90's into today businesses struggle in Maine. The only reason for the improvements to the Portland area was due to a philanthropist who just pumped millions into the downtown area to build and repair the area.
This whole state needs a facelift and there aren't enough people in the 'younger' mindset in charge throughout the whole place. We have people who are more or less retired and running the show in all of the towns and they just don't like change. Maine really needs to be taken by the ankles and have an overhaul!
I can honestly say I feel the same about Manchester, although there are jobs. Manchester sucks!
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
Maine is one of the most difficult states to operate. You have such an enormous division between the northern and southern parts of the state. The cost of keeping the existing infrastructure together, ie Turnpike and other roadways, is enormous compared to that of other states. It's naive for people to think that the taxes cause all the problems. Do I think the taxes are a bit steep? Sure. But I also here people complain constantly that the roads are so bad why don't they fix them...well...that money doesn't grow on trees. Trust me if it did, we'd have no problems up here. Land development has and always will be a point of contention in Maine. If you let it get over developed than Maine will have none of the positive rewards of living in Maine now. I like the relative light traffic, except for those damn leaf peepers but, I'll deal with them. I like that I can get a nice breath of fresh air, and that there aren't so many housing sprawls all over the place that I can't find a nice field to park my ass in for an afternoon. Part of what most people don't realize is that businesses rarely move much further north than Portland, and that after you move past Portland you begin to see commercial endeavours decrease. In the areas that have greater amounts of commercial industry are places that either have a direct link with the water via a port, or coast line, or they are fishing industry or logging industry. One simple matter that no one ever thinks about is that it costs more to get products further into Maine. Simple fact of business there. If I can sell something for $5 in Portland, and it cost me $3 to make it and have it sent to me and it costs me $4 and I'm in Bangor, I've either got to raise the price, which means less people are likely to buy it or I'm not going to make as much money on it. Either way isn't exactly the best for business. There are alot of other reasons besides taxes that have Maine where it is, taxes just seems to be everyone's favorite peeve. Sometimes an uninformed peeve though.
Just to clarify my comments about Maine not being friendly to business....it's not just tax based.
There are people within the government, local, city, town etc. that just will not allow the needed changes to happen.
a prime example of this is the Casco Bay Bridge. A bridge that if we made it go up high enough for these tankers to go under without a draw we would have spent HALF the tax dollars for it's completion, but oh no! 'it will detract from the skyline of Portland'. I'm sorry, but I would have rather spent just the $100 million in tax money than the $198 million that monster cost us (I actually have only been living in NH for 3 years). my tax money helped pay for that thing and the first winter when it got cold enough the stupid thing got stuck in the up position for days because they used a grease that didn't have the temperature tolorences it needed. A prime example of beurocracy at work. It's no different in other places, but I've watched my family struggle for work etc. living in maine due to the limited employment opportunities.
I miss living in Maine, but I don't miss the BS it takes to just get something passed locally to fix or even just think about fixing a problem. I also don't mind paying taxes, but when you're paying income, sales, property, and then have to register your car and pay excise tax on top of the fuel tax and every other tax there is in Maine it really hits your net worth. I've been able to pull myself out of an extremely poor situation living in NH without income and sales tax. I do pay taxes elsewhere, but It is a signifiant difference.
There are beautiful places here in NH just as well as Maine, but my heart stays along the Maine Coast, which is somewhere I'll never be able to afford to live again because of the tourists who come in, build properties well above the local values of homes and drive up the property taxes. This is what made my Aunt have to sell off the last bit of coastal property we had up in Owl's Head. Manchester sucks, but there is a lot of NH that no one really realizes is out there and you can take a deep breath of fresh air and have little to no traffic. Portland certainly has it's own traffic problems.
This happens everywhere, but Maine really needs to find a way to make living and working there much more attractive to the average person who may not have a degree etc. Improve the infrastructure and transportation system.
There has to be another Philanthropist out there somewhere who loves Maine as much as I do. I just can't afford to live there anymore.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
