Published: March 22, 2006 03:47 pm            

VDA not slowing down after BRAC success

The Oklahoma wind, as the song tells us, is forever “sweeping down the plains.”

But much of that breeze late last October stemmed from the sighs of relief from local residents at the official conclusion of the 2005 military base closing round.

Vance Air Force Base, the largest employer in Garfield County with an annual economic impact of nearly $225 million, survived the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Round, and, in fact, will grow as a result.

The news was a great source of relief for members of the Vance Development Authority, the group whose job is to help protect and enhance Vance and its mission.

But don’t expect VDA members to rest on their laurels.

“It is very important for us to continue this effort,” said Mike Cooper, VDA member and chairman of the Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning Commission.

“We have to maintain some type of action on Vance on a regular basis, just because of the huge impact on our community,” said Enid mayor and VDA chairman Ernie Currier. “We can’t fall asleep at the wheel.”

VDA was formed when Vance was threatened with closure in the 1995 BRAC round, and has worked to protect and enhance the base ever since.

Vance will expand as a result of BRAC 2005. Positioning the base for future expansion, Cooper said, will be among VDA’s future roles.

“All we can do is to be in position to take advantage of opportunities as they come up,” said Cooper, “as far as expansion and enhancement. If we want to continue to bring dollars to the base and Enid we have got to stay in the process.”

“We believe that down the road we are going to have to be bigger and better to continue the process,” said Currier. “We want to try to expand our missions.”

The VDA has worked closely with local government, base leadership, the Pentagon and Congress to promote Vance, the military’s only joint undergraduate pilot training base.

“We’ve got to keep our presence (in Washington) and develop those relationships,” said Cooper. “They don’t just happen overnight. When we first went to the Pentagon we met with captains and majors. Now we are meeting with leadership. They know we mean business and we mean and do what we say we will.”

“If you walk in the Pentagon today, they know where Enid, Oklahoma, is,” said Currier. “We have an extremely strong reputation there.”

During the leadup to the last BRAC round, the VDA employed two consultants, J.B. Davis and Stephen Moffitt. Earlier, the VDA terminated the contracts with each.

The group now is discussing hiring a full-time consultant, a move Currier estimates will cut VDA’s expanses almost in half.

Currier said the group is discussing hiring an individual well-versed not only in military affairs, but in economic development, as well.

“I would like to get a consultant that not only would respond to VDA, but would also be there if we needed someone to encourage some folks along economic development lines,” said Currier, “to help Enid make the same strides in economic development that we’ve made in VDA. Let’s use the same efforts for economic development.”

The VDA, Currier said, “is probably our biggest aspect of economic development, because you have to retain what you have.”

Another BRAC round is not looming, but could occur in a decade, 3rd District Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said on a recent visit to Enid.

“He believes that, 10 years down the road, we will probably see BRAC brought up again because of the fact that our military continues to be in a state of flux,” said Currier. “They are always revamping and rethinking how to structure the military.”

“We have to keep our head in the game, keeping track of what is the long-term plan and what could possibly happen,” said Cooper.