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BRAC a Major Victory for Massachusetts (Science & Technology eNewsletter)
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LEAD STORY
by John MacKenna
Mass Insight Corporation, in conjunction with the Massachusetts High Technology Council and its affiliate, the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative (MassDTI), hosted a breakfast discussion on November 8th to discuss strategies for effectively integrating defense-related business and technology into the state's economy. Hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the event piggybacked the Commonwealth's recent successes in preserving two military installations critical to the state's economy, Hanscom Air Force Base and Natick Soldier Systems Center.
Speakers at the breakfast said the bases were saved due to strong public-private sector cooperation in the face of a review of military facilities conducted during the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. A federal commission appointed to study the issue recommended closing 33 facilities nationwide, but spared Hanscom and Natick:
Between them, the bases directly employ about 5,400 workers and support another 10,300 jobs.
In 2003, Hanscom awarded $3.2 billion worth of procurement and service contracts, including $957 million in 714 contracts with Massachusetts-based companies.
In the same year, the Natick facility awarded $557.8 million in contracts, of which $27.2 was awarded to Massachusetts companies.
State Secretary of Economic Development Ranch Kimball reflected on the successful BRAC campaign during his keynote address at the breakfast and cited the "unprecedented cooperation" that went into preserving the Hanscom and Natick operations. The process demonstrates the importance of cooperation among government, industry and academia, Kimball said.
The breakfast featured a panel discussion moderated by Michael Goodman, director of economic and public policy research for the UMass Donahue Institute, that included three defense industry executives: James Regan, chairman and CEO, Dynamics Research Corporation; Robert F. Nesbit, senior vice president and general manager of The MITRE Corporation; and William E. Walsh, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Sippican Inc.
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