The BRAC process due in 2015 may impact us. Bob Ross, our Military Affairs State Director, and the Sub Base Realignment Coalition are engaged in gaining financing and in gathering the necessary data to make the case to keep the Groton Sub Base and Electric Boat here and open.
The elephant in the room however is a second term for Barak Obama. Our debt is wildly out of control. His signature issue has been his health care plan nicknamed, "Obamacare". In a second term he will, if the courts allow it, start to put into place details of his plan. Every economist who has studied the plan has said that this will increase our debt by trillions.
The president could demand large cuts from the military and the services would have no choice but to comply. Calling it a “fiscal crisis” would empower the president to allow defunding, forcing cuts without benefit of a BRAC process.
Bases become most likely the first thing each service would look at. Kings Bay Sub Base in Georgia is newer. The “Start Treaty” reduction in the missile boat fleet from 6 to 4 on each coast opens a claim of excess capacity. Kings Bay has a large team visiting Congress yearly, lobbying for their base. They are a formidable alternate choice.
Assurances from the Department of Defense that the Groton Sub Base was secure are all “subject to change,” as we know from experience. A second term of Obama should cause us serious concern for the support we might or might not receive.
