Neighbors size up BRAC plan
By Matt Leclercq
Staff writer
Since the first observation balloons sailed above a pea field in 1918, the landing strip that would become Pope Air Force Base has played an integral role in Fort Bragg's mission.
The base, as they say, puts the "air" in "Airborne."
That's why many were shocked - if not a bit unsettled - by the Pentagon's proposal Friday of major changes at Pope: the Army would take over, sending 4,000 airmen and fleets of planes to other bases.
Spring Lake's mayor thought at first that news reporters were mistaken. It sounded like Pope was doomed for closure, which could spell doom for Spring Lake businesses. But as the news sunk in over the weekend, it became clearer to many that not much here would change under the Pentagon's proposal - at least outside the military gates.
Duvall
"It's a really good airfield. No one is going to take the airfield away," said John Duvall, director of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville. "The Army isn't going to put tents on it.''
While Pope would end up with 4,145 fewer personnel, including the 43rd Airlift Wing and the 23rd Fighter Group, Fort Bragg would gain 4,325 people. Pope will still have planes - an Air Force C-130 unit would remain to support deployments and training. The 911th Airlift Wing, now in Pittsburgh, would move to Pope.
Other proposals by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would move the 7th Special Forces Group to Florida. A 4th Brigade Combat Team would be created in the 82nd Airborne Division. And the Army's Forces Command would transfer to Fort Bragg, boosting the post's importance on the world stage.
Nothing is immediate. Congress and President Bush must approve the nationwide plan, and the changes would take two to six years to implement.
Around town, perhaps the most noticeable change would involve noise. About 40 fewer planes would fly into and out of Pope on a regular basis.
But more important, many say, the Pentagon's vision for realigning its forces appears to be a better strategy for facing today's enemies, namely terrorists.
"Change is good," said Eddie Shimko, a former airman who spent 30 years working with the Army in the insurance business. "You may not think about that at the beginning. Think back 40 years ago. They said they were going to bring all this into Fort Bragg and people said, 'Oh my God, it's going to destroy the area.'
"It didn't," he said. "It made Fayetteville what it is today.''
Storied history
Pope Air Force Base has been part of nearly every major world conflict since World War II, including Korea, Vietnam, the invasion of Grenada in 1983 and the first Gulf War in 1990.
Observation planes and balloons used the former pea field through its early years, when Camp Bragg was an artillery post. During World War II, the base grew into a major training site for carrying troops, including paratroopers.
Duvall, of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum, said the airfield's proximity to Bragg has made it a strategic launching platform for the 82nd Airborne Division since the 1940s. And since the 1960s, Pope has been at the forefront of the U.S. military's ability to deploy troops and cargo anywhere in the world in a matter of hours.
"The guys could literally walk over to the airfield," Duvall said. "It always played a key role after World War II, a particularly important role. That's where the 82nd did its training."
The 43rd Airlift Wing was activated as the host wing at Pope in 1997. Its 25 C-130E aircraft would leave Pope under the Pentagon plan. Another 36 of the A-10 attack planes - the stubby-looking aircraft nicknamed "Warthogs" - would leave with the 23rd Fighter Group.
The once-rural landscape just north of Pope is among some of the fastest-developing tracts in the region. Planes that once flew over vast pine forests now fly over new subdivisions in Harnett County and north of Spring Lake.
It's unclear whether the encroachment played any role in the proposed changes at Pope. But the prospect of fewer planes roaring overhead makes many in Spring Lake happy.
Lucila Stanton moved to the Deerfield neighborhood off N.C. 87 in 1997.
Stanton
"The first time, I saw all these planes and said, 'Is this an invasion?'" she remembered.
Her husband explained that it wasn't - they just had an air base as a neighbor.
"Sometimes I see the (plane's) shadows when I'm in my kitchen,'' she said. "I'm scared something could happen, a crash or something. I tell my husband we need to move from here because you never know."
Business worries
Businesses are more cautious about the realignment. While Bragg and Pope wouldn't see a net loss of personnel under the proposal, the types of people involved in the shuffle are different. Some of the new personnel would be higher-paid or higher-ranking. That's good for the region's economy, leaders say, but troublesome to some businesses whose lifeblood is the young men and women in uniform.
And there's no guarantee that the new personnel brought to Fort Bragg would live and shop in the same communities as the people they're replacing. Neighboring Harnett and Moore counties are booming with newer neighborhoods popular among those of higher ranks.
"I hate to hear the enlisted man leave Bragg or Pope," said Lloyd Ray, an owner of Ideal Home Furniture in Spring Lake. "It's something to worry about any time you hear about a lot of troop movement."
The store - a maze of couches, carpets and lamps - doesn't necessarily cater to generals and other brass. But Ray's business and most others in Spring Lake, a town of 8,000 people, aren't entirely dependant on Air Force. Plenty of soldiers shop there, too.
"That's what I do in a week," said James McDonald, pointing to a short rack of uniforms at Tabitha's Sewing on Main Street. Lots of camouflage, but none are Air Force. And in a glass counter near the door are hundreds of patches for sale, but only a handful are Air Force blue.
General Jackson's, one of the largest military supply stores on Yadkin Road, doesn't even carry Air Force merchandise.
"We're 85 percent Army, and the rest is civilian," said manager Bob Sealey.
Griffin
Pamela Griffin sees the changes at Pope differently. She remembers growing up in Spring Lake, spending Easters just inside the base's gates at Pope Park.
"We used to sit out and watch the planes fly over, and swing on the swings," she said. "It was part of a lot of our lives growing up. A lot of families would get together and have functions at the park."
Whatever happens to Pope, she's most disappointed about the fewer number of airmen that will be stationed there. Her 28-year-old son, John Hannah, is an airman stationed in Guam. She has pleaded with him to try to get stationed at Pope so he could be near his family.
"I'm going to call him and say, 'Well, you don't have to worry about me begging you to come to Pope Air Force Base,'" Griffin said. "Now I don't see him having a shot at all."
Staff writer Matt Leclercq can be reached at leclercqm@fayettevillenc.com or 486-3551.
Copyright 2005 The Fayetteville (NC) Observer
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