The Pentagon's rankings caught some by surprise.

Hill, a base known for its F-16s, was ranked No. 1 in military value to host a tanker mission. Oklahoma's Tinker Air Force Base, an air logistics center known for its tanker maintenance, came in fourth behind Hill.

"We don't have tankers, that's why I'm wondering if, in fact, it could be an error," McCall said. "What do they mean by that capacity to do tanker workload? That's not our mission."

Before the Pentagon's list of proposed bases to be realigned or closed was released, Utah Defense Alliance touted Hill's capacity to grow and accept new missions.

When asked if that possibility could have played a role in Hill's ranking in the tanker category, McCall said, "I don't know; we need to get into that."

Other rankings peg Hill at 16th in ability to host special operations/combat search and rescue, 17th in both unmanned aerial vehicles and bombers, 26th in bombers and 40th in the ability to host space operations among the 154 Air Force installations nationwide.

Base officials and McCall said it's too early to decipher what the rankings mean.

"Before we start jumping in and defending numbers, I think we have to have a clear understanding of what they are and what they mean and go from there," McCall said. "So I'm not ready to comment and say, 'Gosh this is this, we were number 4, 14, 1 or whatever.' Like I say, there is a huge question mark there when it says tankers. We don't know what that means, and they certainly didn't give us tankers in the BRAC realignment."

More information could be released when BRAC commissioners visit Salt Lake City on June 7 for a public hearing.

"The regional hearings will provide the primary means for communities to educate the commissioners and their staff on their disagreements with the DoD base recommendations," said former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, chairman of the commission.

BRAC commissioners have until Sept. 8 to send their recommendations on base closures and realignments to the president for his consideration.

---

E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com; lee@desnews.com