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Published: 19 August 2018 19 August 2018

[Editor's Note: This is the fourth article in a five-part series of articles on the Grant County Commission work session on Aug. 14, 2018 and regular meeting of Aug. 16, 2018.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

After hearing a presentation by Air Force Col. (retired) Susan Beck, Grant County commissioners discussed the issue during their work session and again during the regular meeting, before coming to a decision. A report on Beck's presentation can be read at http://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/46044-final-sentence-changed-grant-county-commissioners-hear-presentation-on-air-force-proposal-to-train-over-the-gila-081418 

At the work session, Commissioner Brett Kasten thanked Col. Beck for coming back to present to the commission. "I'm open to discussion on this resolution, so long as the intent of the resolution doesn't get changed," Kasten said. "My intent is to point out the potential pitfalls, with a laundry list of things the Air Force needs to consider. For instance, I don't want them flying over the Gila Cliff Dwellings. I have a feeling they don't want to use this air space, but if it's a national security issue, I say, yes, use it. But I think I'll give them plenty of information to get them to go to other areas."

Commission Chairman Billy Billings said it was appropriate for Kasten to meet with Col. Beck.

"I'm a citizen of Grant County, too," Beck said. "I started hearing so many misconceptions and misunderstandings that I took it on personally. I am totally representing myself, as a retired Air Force Colonel, not as the Air Force. The bases are receiving me well and trying to set up a good relationship. We will receive another meeting from the Air Force, so it's productive."

Billings said he appreciated what she said about needing to make known the county's issues.

"I've been encouraged to educate the Pentagon," Beck said. "Now is the time to educate the Air Force, so if they create the Lobos air space here, they will know what they are facing."

Commissioner Harry Browne said he had great appreciation for Kasten's drafting the resolution. "I'm glad to see this. I think the Air Force has lots of pages to read. They are good at it. I like the detail in Kasten's version. I have a preference for stronger language."

Kasten said he tried to cover the dichotomy among the commissioners, "so we can get a unanimous vote."

"I disagree that there will be substantial economic development," Browne said. "I also disagree they have a pilot shortage. I do not believe this training is critical for national security."

Commissioner Gabriel Ramos said he liked the resolution. "Does our federal delegation support this effort? We don't need wishy-washy representation."

"I want the estimated $51 billion to come to New Mexico," Kasten said.

Ramos concurred and said: "That kind of money will not come to the state any other way."

Kasten said his intent is to support the expansion of training opportunities.

Beck noted the change from critical to essential makes a difference. "This is already considered essential, but is it mission critical?"

Billings said it was deliberate on his part to choose the word essential.

"If the Air Force does not revise the Talon (air space), it could be Lobos and even more areas," Beck said. "They are evaluating 10,000 acres at 100 percent."

Ramos said he found it beneficial to have designated Col. Beck as the county representative.

"I've been telling them that I am advising you, the city and organizations in the community," Beck said. "I am willing to take whatever designation you want to give me."

Kasten noted that he put in the political aspects of the resolution. "She's only for the technical parts."

Beck said she had a meeting set up with Sen. Tom Udall's staffer in Las Cruces. "I'm trying, as a consultant, to get hold of Rep. (Steve) Pearce."

Commissioner Alicia Edwards said she offered her support of Kasten's draft resolution, except "I believe that the federal delegation is in favor of the word critical. I think that detail is important."

"This coming from the County Commission is what will hold authority for the Air Force, whatever the word," Beck said.

Browne said he wondered if designating Col. Beck as the county's representative would be detrimental.

Beck said she is informally letting the base commanders know "I'm addressing you, and I have also addressed Silver City and I went to Bayard."

At the regular meeting, Kasten said he had made "mostly mundane changes," fixing typos and adding punctuation. He had stricken out some language and added a few words here and there."

Browne said that Beck had emphasized the importance of using the word critical over essential. "I think changing it from critical to essential is wrong. Everything the Air Force does is essential."

Billings replied that in his discussions with Beck, she had said it would be impossible to meet the critical threshold.

"Yes, it could be met but only if it was war time or an emergency," Beck said.

"I want critical," Kasten said. "We're not demanding it but asking them."

Edwards said the difference is whether it is defense critical or mission critical.

After considerable wordsmithing, the final paragraph read: "Now, therefore, be it further resolved that unless the Air Force determines that no other alternative can fulfill this training mission, the Grant County Commission respectfully requests that the Air Force use the other proposed and existing areas for Holloman's F-16 training."

Browne addressed the resolution by reading comments he had prepared. He said the County Commission doesn't get a chance to balance competing values of federal usage very often. This one, "offering the Commission’s input into the Air Force’s decision about where to train fighter pilots, requires us to balance our common interest in a strong national defense against both the nation’s interest in preserving wild places free from human impact and our local interest in outdoor recreation for ourselves and tourists."

He cited history from President Dwight D. Eisenhower who said in his farewell address to the nation that the United States of America was the most powerful nation on earth at that time. But he also warned Americans of an emerging threat: the military-industrial complex, which would divert resources to its narrow purposes.

"The situation we are in right now is exactly what President Eisenhower was talking about," Browne alleged. "To meet the needs of an air force that is far larger than what we need for actual national defense, we are contemplating degrading one of the crown jewels of the nation’s wilderness system."

He said the Air Force counts 5,700 aircraft stationed in the U.S. and around the world. The Navy has 3,500 aircraft. Russia has 1,700 aircraft, mostly old ones built in the 1970s and '80s. "We have focused so much on global military domination, we have forgotten how important global prosperity and the spread of democratic values are to our own security."

Browne said he disagreed with the statement that the Air Force was facing a significant pilot shortage unless "we accept the need for our currently oversized fleet. This air space should be off limits no matter what."

"But I will vote for this resolution anyway, because it is a well-crafted compromise that succeeds in the important task of giving the Air Force valuable information about southwestern New Mexico," Browne concluded. "I hope we can all recognize this fact and send the Air Force a unanimously supported resolution for its consideration."

Edwards thanked everyone for working on the compromise.

Ramos disagreed with Browne on an oversized military. "It's why we're free. Solar energy is not going to protect us."

Billings said he did not agree with everything in the resolution. "I do agree with Kasten's admonitions. The Air Force is already looking at this area. I have heartburn on the things that are missing from this document, but I thank the commissioners for their compromise on this.

"This is exactly what I told Gabe when we were considering a five-person commission," Kasten said. "I envisioned us working together just like this."

The commissioners unanimously approved the four-page resolution, which will be available for viewing in the Clerk's Office.

The final article will cover the rest of the meeting and county reports.