Hoyer Long Time Advocate for Maryland's Military Installations
SOUTHERN MARYLAND - Congressman Steny Hoyer (D-MD), who has spent countless hours fighting to protect and preserve Southern Maryland's military installations, issued the following statement today in response to the release of the Department of Defense's list of recommended U.S. military installations to be realigned or closed.
"The Department of Defense's BRAC recommendations are an overall gain for Maryland and a victory for Southern Maryland. I am very pleased that the Pentagon recognized what valuable assets we have in Southern Maryland. Their recommendations to sustain Southern Maryland's installations are a clear expression of the critical role they play in helping our nation meet the threats and challenges of a new century.
"At Pax River the DoD has recommended a gain of nearly 100 new personnel and at Indian Head, all energetics capabilities remain intact and the Core energetics function and tenant activities including CBIRF [Chemical Biological Incident Response Force] and JITC [Joint Interoperability Test Command] remain at Indian Head.
"A major victory is the creation of a Naval energetics center at Indian Head, officially acknowledging Indian Head as a premier DoD energetics installation. This recommendation enables technical synergy, and positions the DoD to coordinate various energetics capabilities.
"We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to consolidate missions at Indian Head and Pax River over the past four BRAC rounds, and these recommendations reflect how successful we have been. Additionally, the Congress has funded numerous exclusive projects at our installations in order to capitalize on the advanced and innovative talents at work at Pax River, St. Inigoes and Indian Head. It is clear that the Pentagon recognizes that the deliberate and effective symmetry that we have constructed at our installations benefits and serves all branches of the military and maximizes military effectiveness.
"I am also pleased that the state as a whole has done so well - Maryland was one of the largest winners in BRAC process - showing once again how effectively the Maryland delegation has worked together over last ten years to demonstrate to Pentagon decision makers the tremendous military value of Maryland's installations.
"As the BRAC process continues to move forward, I remain committed to working to ensure that there is no doubt in the minds of the BRAC Commissioners that these valuable bases serve an important role in defending our nation and provide unmatched and advanced technical expertise for our military. I am confident they will agree that the superior capabilities being utilized jointly by all forces of our military at the installations in Southern Maryland are invaluable to our national defense.
"I will continue to work hard to ensure that Southern Maryland's installations are more capable and diverse and serve to strengthen, expand and enhance the joint capabilities and interests of our military. I believe that even beyond this BRAC, we will continue to be successful both in terms of each installation's military value and their positive economic impact in Southern Maryland."
Congressman Hoyer is known as a leader in Maryland when it comes to Maryland's bases and in his own words, he has said that, "no other issue has taken as much of my time or focus" than fighting to protect and preserve Southern Maryland's military installations. As a result of Hoyer's efforts during the previous BRACs of 1993 and 1995, thousands of jobs were protected and retained at Pax River, Indian Head and St. Inigoes. Hoyer has spent countless hours at the Pentagon talking to key decision makers about the vital role these bases play in our national security, has hosted numerous Pentagon officials at the facilities, and has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funds for projects and programs that benefit Southern Maryland's military installations and the state of Maryland.