HAFB's outlook is sunny — for now

LAYTON — Utah's military installations aren't in the clear just yet.

At least not officially.

But all signs looked sunny Monday as Base Realignment and Closure commissioners toured Hill Air Force Base.

Members of Utah's congressional delegation were upbeat Monday as they spoke about the future of Hill as a major player in the nation's defense.

"And the reason I think we are in the situation we are in right now, in a very positive role as this BRAC round goes forward, is because the leadership and the work force, both civilian and military, have proven their excellence," Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said at a press conference with BRAC commissioners Monday.

Base closure commissioners, however, reminded the community that changes could still be in the works.

Under the Pentagon's realignment plan, Hill will lose missions related to 13 current military positions and 447 civilian positions. But it will pick up 291 military positions and 24 civilian positions from other bases being closed.

That leaves a net loss of 145 jobs at Hill, which has nearly 24,000 civilian and military employees.

"You can breathe easy when the president of the United States signs the legislation," said Jim Hansen, the former Utah congressman who now serves on the BRAC commission.

Whether the base will stay that way is up to the BRAC commissioners. Hansen said the state of Utah came out "very, very well" in the Pentagon's recommendations.

Hansen, Lloyd "Fig" Newton, a retired Air Force general who was at one point stationed at Hill, and Philip Coyle, the former assistant secretary of defense for test and evaluation, toured the Davis County base Monday.

Commissioners sat in briefings with top Hill staff followed by a walking tour of the base's F-16 and A-10 maintenance lines. Commissioners also visited Hill's landing gear facility and the Strategic Missile Integration Center and took short tours of the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings.

Afterward, commissioners, Bishop, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett retreated to lunch at a local steakhouse, courtesy of the Utah Defense Alliance. There, congressional leaders pleaded their case for Hill, Tooele Army Depot, Dugway Proving Ground and Deseret Chemical Depot, the only Utah installation targeted for closure by the Pentagon.

A planned flyover of the Utah Test and Training Range was canceled because all three BRAC commissioners already had considerable knowledge of the value of the range.