"That's one of the reasons why we are a valuable national asset," Walden said. "For what we do, we're it in the West. Now there are others in the East, but this side of the Mississippi River, this side of the Rocky Mountains, it's us. So that gives us some geographical insulation, and it gives us some BRAC insulation."

The depot also boasts another military concept being pushed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: a transformed military that works and trains together.

This cooperation between branches of military is already happening at TAD, Walden said. The depot stores munitions from the Army, Air Force and Marines.

"I consider it to be one of our major strengths," Walden said.

Nearly 13,500 acres of the depot are devoted to munitions storage. The western hills of the base are dotted with 920 munitions igloos.

If BRAC did shut down the base, cleanup of those hills might not be easy, Walden said.

No matter how many advantages TAD officials think they might have in the BRAC process, their fate isn't certain.

"We're not assuming that we are going to be safe," Walden said. "We recognize that everyone is vulnerable. We've done what we can to position ourselves as best we could.

"We're experienced at this. We know how to do it. Hopefully we don't have to use that experience this time."

Low profile

Dugway is one of the nation's best-kept secrets.

UFO-watchers have dubbed Dugway the "new Area 51." Little is said about what missions are performed at the 80,000-acre Army base in the middle of Utah's desert.

Dugway sits about 80 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. That secluded, distant location and the secretive nature of its missions are both reasons Dugway often is ignored when BRAC is discussed in Utah, Mayfield said.

"If they close Dugway, boy oh boy, it would be tough for the Army," Hansen said. "People don't talk about them a lot, but they have some fantastic missions that are extremely important."

Dugway is one of the country's main facilities for developing defenses against biological and chemical attacks.

Workers at Dugway test defense gear to make sure they can survive nuclear, biological and chemical attacks, said John Pike, a defense analyst at GlobalSecurity.org, a nonpartisan defense and research organization.

Massive test facilities at the base are so large that they can accommodate cars, aircraft and tanks to test defenses against toxic agents.

Dugway has the potential to add many more important missions, Mayfield said. That possibility increases the installation's chances against closure, he said.

"There is a tremendous opportunity for the Army and the Air Force to combine," Mayfield said. "One of the objectives that we keep hearing about with BRAC is interservicing, so we could have the Army and the Air Force working together in joint efforts."

The Army and Air Force could work together at Dugway to test weapons and train personnel, Mayfield said. Dugway is just south of Hill's massive Utah Test and Training Range, where F-16 fighters from Hill train in air-to-air combat and the Air Force tests cruise missiles.

Dugway could also become an extremely important installation for homeland security, said Vickie McCall, president of the Utah Defense Alliance. Teaming up with the Air Force would only make the United States stronger, she said.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com