Hill virtually untouched by closure recomendations

LAYTON — The Department of Defense has recommended closing the Deseret Chemical Depot but offered only a slight realignment for Hill Air Force Base Friday — a giant relief to state leaders who feared its closure would devastate the Utah economy.

On the potential chopping block were Hill, Dugway Proving Ground, the Tooele Army Depot and the Deseret Chemical Depot — all of which anchor a large section of northern Utah that shelters tens of thousands of high-paying jobs.

Hill alone contributes an estimated $4 billion in annual economic impact and accounts for 24,000 military, civilian and contractor jobs.

The Base Realignment and Closure list recommends a net loss of only 145 of Hill's jobs. Few expected the base to be closed or significantly scaled back because Hill's mission as an air logistics center is an expansive one.

It was unclear what affect the realignment would have, though one worker said administrative positions would account for the losses.

"We're practically untouched. We dodged an atomic bomb, not just a bullet," said Tom Waggoner, the mayor of nearby Clearfield who works as a supervisor for information technology at Hill.

Referring to the 145 lost jobs, Waggoner said, "most of this is just administrative positions. Everybody at Hill breathed a sigh of relief."

Col. Joe Sokol, Hill's commander, planned a news briefing at 2 p.m. Sokol was just receiving information about the BRAC recommendations and was unable to immediately explain what they mean, a base spokeswoman said.

Waggoner also is a member of the Utah Defense Alliance — a group that lobbied Congress and the Pentagon to keep Hill open — and said it would now work to try to pick up jobs lost from base closures in other states.

"It looks real good," he said, "and we're tickled."

As one of just three bases of its kind remaining, it's responsible for engineering and operations of the F-16 fighter and the A-10 aircraft, as well as the Minuteman III and Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. The base also handles various repairs on other airplanes, imaging and reconnaissance equipment and aircraft and missile training devices.

Utah politicians said the light impact on Hill was a testament to the base workers' efficiency and mission.