Colo. likely to be spared from worst defense cuts

DENVER — Colorado will probably avoid the worst of the defense budget cutbacks in the post-Iraq, post-Afghanistan era because of the bustling military space operations in Colorado Springs and the Denver area.

The outlook for Fort Carson, the state's largest military installation, is less clear. The Army hasn't identified all the locations that will be affected as it cuts about 80,000 soldiers.

Few specifics about the Army's future have been released since the Pentagon announced last month that it would slow its spending growth and refocus on Asia, the Mideast and cyberspace.

Details that have been made public suggest three major commands in Colorado, along with an F-16 fighter jet squadron and a C-130 cargo plane squadron, will survive and in some cases thrive.

"I'm very optimistic from what I've seen and read," said Brian Binn, president of the Military Affairs Division of the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce. "If you looked at the priorities — space, cyberspace, homeland security, intelligence, reconnaissance ... all of them are key missions that we have up and down the Front Range."

The Pentagon says it will place a high priority on homeland security and on surveillance, communications and navigation satellites — missions that rely on the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command and Air Force Space Command, all based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs.

The Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado, run by the secretive National Reconnaissance Office at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, is also a key military player in satellite surveillance.

The three commands and the NRO have at least 20,000 military and civilian employees combined in Colorado Springs and Aurora.

NORAD is responsible for defending the U.S. and Canadian skies. Northern Command is responsible for the military defense of U.S. soil and assisting civil authorities in emergencies.

Air Force Space Command's responsibilities range from launching military satellites to overseeing Air Force cyber-warfare and computer defense operations. In Colorado, Space Command units control dozens of military satellites.

Losses of some Colorado jobs seem likely. The Air Force says it will cut 9,900 active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel across the service.