Hill backers to give final plea to BRAC

After touring the base, BRAC commissioners will meet at a Layton steakhouse for lunch with Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., members of the Utah Defense Alliance, local legislative leaders and Utah's congressional delegation.

"We want to show them what the BRAC report outlined, but in addition we would like to leave them with a better understanding of what our vision for Hill is in the future and that we are capable of taking on new workload," McCall said. "We are a complex military installation. There are opportunities for more joint work."

Bishop said the range is so valuable that it could lure the Department of Defense to award Hill new aircraft like the F-35 or the F-22, "a plane we desperately need," the congressman told the Deseret Morning News.

Originally, BRAC commissioners were scheduled for a short, morning tour of the base. After the tour, BRAC commissioners were supposed to head to Salt Lake City for a regional hearing.

The tight time schedule didn't allow a flyover of the test and training range. But the hearing was later canceled, allowing commissioners to see much more of Hill than originally planned.

"After careful consideration and consultation with the Utah delegation, it was decided that an extended visit with key representatives of the community and a tour of the base would be a superior alternative," to a regional public hearing, BRAC commission chairman Anthony Principi said.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com