Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 6, 1995 TAG: 9503070036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BLACKSTONE LENGTH: Medium
State and local leaders met Saturday to plan strategy for keeping the fort open.
``This is a group that is united,'' said Bill Armbruster, a member of the Blackstone Town Council and chairman of the Fort Pickett Support Group. ``We are a community and a region united. We want to save Fort Pickett.''
Defense Secretary William Perry announced Tuesday that the fort was on a list of proposed base closings and realignments. The independent Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission will review the list and then submit its recommendations to the president and Congress.
Local leaders reacted promptly to form the support group, organize Saturday's meeting and show of support, and prepare an office that will open today in Blackstone.
The support group consists of officials from the counties of Nottoway, Lunenburg, Brunswick and Dinwiddie; the towns of Blackstone, Burkeville and Crewe; and the Piedmont Planning District Commission.
``This will not be Pickett's last charge. We're going to win,'' Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-Petersburg, told a cheering crowd of about 100 people.
Fort Pickett is the largest employer in Blackstone and is one of the largest in the area. Its closing would take 254 jobs - 245 civilian and nine military - out of the area.
But support group members said they will not focus on the base's economic importance, but will play up its military significance.
Besides being used by the Army, the base is used by Marines, the Navy and the Air Force, Armbruster said. ``We want to prove the multiservice capability of the base,'' he said.
The support group will also attack what they called ``outdated, incomplete and incorrect information'' in the Army's data used to determine a 20-year savings of $241 million from the base's closure.
Among the features of the base to be played up are:
Four tank ranges, the only ones between Fort Bragg, N.C., and Fort Drum, N.Y., that allow tanks to practice firing and moving.
A 16-building mock city that allows for urban warfare training.
A 5,300-foot runway that can accommodate the C-17, believed to be the airlift craft of the future.
Members of the support group stood before a sign that read, ``Showing Our Support for Pickett.'' Many wore caps saying, ``Welcome to Fort Pickett.''
Support group members hope they will be able to make a strong showing and sales pitch when a commission member visits the fort.
Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.