1988 Base Re-Alignment and Closure BRAC

By Mike Moore

     On October 18, 1988, I was sitting in my partition on the second floor of Building 100 and my boss, Bruce Cantwell came in and said that George Schroeder, TECOM gave us two hours to figure out how much JPG could be sold for and the mission be transferred to Yuma.  Realizing this was a wild eyed guestimate (request) from our headquarters, but being good civil servants, we complied and started calling real estate agents to see what local farmland was selling for. We received the figure of about $2,000 per acre from the realtors.  George then briefed General Wagner,  Chief of the Army Materiel Command that one time costs were estimated to at $53.1 million excluding allowances for demilitarization, deactivation, standby mobilization costs or savings from sale of land or property.( AMSTE-PL 21 OCT 88------ Michael J. Early).  The General was told that it would take 15 years to recover the cost of Base Closure.   The AMC folks told TECOM not to notify JPG that it was the only TECOM installation on the recommended list. So, JPG officials were totally unaware of this process.

     (Eyes Only) Col Glover (revised input –FYI) 27 October 1988

Cost estimate provided to AMC on 20 Oct 88 to meet immediate response requirement was based upon cursory examination of previous studies and identified one time costs of $53 million.  Re-examination by DEH&IL identified areas that were not properly considered.  New estimate of $95. 8 million one time closure costs. ----Leo J. Appel, Chief PA&E ofc. TECOM.

     JPG Officials were asked to figure out what the cost of cleaning the proving ground would be. Using existing rates of cost for dump trucks, diggers, road graders, etc., it was calculated that to clean the approximate $52,000 contaminated acres to a depth of 10 feet would be a one time cost of $5 billion.  So the cost estimate went from $53,000,000 to $95,800,000 to $5,000,000,000 in a few months.  Unfortunately the Base Closure Commission under Senator Abraham Ribicoff would not consider the revision costs.

     Lee Hamilton interceded with Les Aspin, the congressman who headed the Armed Services Committee to grant an audience to Bruce Cantwell and I.  We took a range map of JPG and briefed Mr. Aspin and Mr. Hamilton for 45 minutes in the House Armed Services Committee. Bruce told both men that it would take $5 billion dollars to clean the UXO from the land.  After Bruce concluded the briefing and we were headed out the door of the conference room, we heard Les Aspin quietly say to Lee Hamilton, “I don’t dispute their figures, but there is no way in hell are we going to spend that kind of money for cleanup”---------Mike Moore

     General Akin, Commander of the Test and Evaluation Command had a blustery, shoot from the hip type, folksy way of communicating with his employees.  He spent several hours to develop a briefing to his boss at TECOM on why JPG should be saved.  In a meeting of several of the staff from both TECOM and The Army Materiel Command, General Akin proceeded to tell the General how it would be foolish to close JPG.  As he began, his boss just told him to shut up.  The deal was done. Congress had passed a law and General Akin should just get in line and follow his marching orders.  General Akin just sat down and not a word was spoken about saving JPG.----------Bob Hudson, Technical Director, JPG.

      The JPG Employees worked the five years to closure;, working two shifts during Desert Shield and Desert Storm providing the army with top notch ammunition, while at the same time closing the Base.  They closed the base with honor and dignity and saved many lives in the mean time by quietly going about their jobs.

 Due to the break out of Desert Shield/Desert Storm, JPG's workload increased 15% as 321 lots, including 120-mm tank ammo and components, 155-mm smoke rounds, and 155-mm stick propellant, were tested for the Gulf War. Despite the increased firing activity, other operations at JPG began to slow in 1990. The JPG employees really worked hard under the cloud of base closure. Many employees worked over time and some folks worked thru the Christmas Season to make sure all the ammo needed was tested before the Gulf war started.

     The employees also had about 35 relatives involved in the war.  A letter writing and care package program was started so that all the troops knew we appreciated them.  To illustrate this spirit, An M1 tank was moved in front of JPG Headquarters and as many employees climbed on it that could.  Others surrounded the bottom.  A banner was strung across the tank with the words JPG Supports he Troops.  A photo was taken and sent to each of the 35 relatives involved in the war.  A copy of this photo now hangs in the lobby of the Jefferson Credit Union.

To fight base closure the employees organized the JPG Survival Committee.

     The JPG survival committee received $10,000 dollars from the local area realtors to help fight base closure. The JPG survival committee mounted a valiant effort to publicize the good works of JPG and the fact that the land was covered with unexploded ordnance. As a result of informational picketing the Indiana State House, the legislature passed a resolution calling of the Federal government to clean up the UXO laying on and in the ground. The Survival Committee made four trips to Washington to lobby the Congress. When it became apparent that the base could not be saved, the Survival Committee lobbied for Base Cleanup.

     The EPA refused to let the Army sell the land to the public. The Proving Ground closed in 1995. The Air National Guard still practices bombing the northern end of the proving ground, the Fish and Wild life service manages the wild life as the Big Oaks Refuge. Dean Ford is managing the southern administrative area. The Native Americans, the Immigrants, and Pioneers who sought a new life in this country, and the Government employees are gone, never to return.

     The last round fired at JPG Occurred at September 30, 1994. The base was closed in 1995. The guns were silenced. For 50 years the folks at the proving ground served as a vital link in the production of ammunition, all which went to defeat America's enemies