Energy Policy Act of 2005

Statement of Senator Carl Levin to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission Hearing in St. Louis

Mr. Chairman, thank you, and BRAC Commissioners, thank you all for your willingness to serve in a very, very difficult job. And thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak with you today. Jennifer Granholm and Senator Stabenow cannot be with us today, but they asked me to extend their appreciation and to offer their support for my remarks. I will also be submitting Senator Stabenow's statement for the record.

My focus today is on the Pentagon's recommendations for the Detroit Arsenal. I will also touch upon Selfridge Air National Guard Base and then, after I take about half of our time, you will hear from Congressman Joe Schwarz and other representatives from Battle Creek, and that conversation will be regarding the Kellogg Air National Guard Base in Battle Creek. I believe there is overwhelming logic to the Pentagon's recommendations to consolidate certain additional functions at the Detroit Arsenal. This is the Department of Defense's "center of excellence" for ground vehicle development and acquisition. So I'm here to support those recommendations of the Department of Defense relative to that Detroit Arsenal. And one line from the Department of Defense's Base Closure Report really says it all. Which are that "the synergies from having a critical mass located in southeast Michigan and being able to leverage the world's capital for automotive ground vehicle research and development and acquisition will ensure the Department of Defense is prepared to meet its future demands."

So the department has recognized that the world's capital is right where the Detroit Arsenal is in southeast Michigan for automotive and ground vehicle research development and acquisition.

Let me just share with you briefly some thoughts about why those recommendations make so much sense. The Detroit Arsenal, first of all, includes the headquarters for the Tank and Automotive and Armaments Command, known as TACOM; the Tank Automotive Research and Development Center, known as TARDEC; and the National Automotive Center, known as the NAC. They combine the Army's ground vehicle acquisition, development, and maintenance functions in one central location.

Because of their strategic location in the world's automotive hub, TACOM, TARDEC, and the NAC are able to take advantage of the investments in the area that have been made by General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, and Hyundai, and many other companies, as well as by academia in advanced vehicle research. And because the individuals who work at the Detroit arsenal have deep relationships, professional relationships with their commercial counterparts, they are able to secure the most advanced and effective technologies for the Army. In short, the Detroit arsenal allows the Army to develop the highest performance vehicles at the lowest cost.

Let me just give you a few examples. TACOM, TARDEC, and the Society For Automotive Engineers recently developed a common on-vehicle computer that allows the Army to more easily incorporate advanced commercial automotive technologies from the commercial automotive industry into the Army's ground vehicle fleet. Today, those computers are being installed in the entire family of medium tactical vehicles, enabling the Army to modernize its current fleet of naval vehicles.

One example of the improvement that on-vehicle computer has enabled is the installation of a common commercial device called anti-lock brakes, and to integrate that safety device on the Army's existing ground vehicle fleet. Many of those vehicles were manufactured long before computers were even placed on the vehicles. Today, they're commonplace on both commercial and military vehicles. The Detroit Arsenal took the Army Stryker combat vehicle from concept to production in record time. It developed new slat armor - and this is with the commercial world for the striker - in a matter of weeks to meet the needs of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It deployed new crew protection armor kits for the M-939 vehicle months after the concept originated. It responds to calls from the field both in Iraq and Afghanistan on a daily basis. And the harsh operational conditions in both locations have demanded that Arsenal engineers find ways to push the Army's ground vehicle fleet to the next level.

Southeast Michigan is helping to develop the Army of the future. The engineers at TARDEC and the National Automotive Center are improving the Army's ground vehicle fleet by leveraging the research already completed in the auto industry, and that research is critical to reducing fuel consumption in the Army's ground vehicles. Together the commercial sector and the military are exploring ways to create a mobile electrical grid. They are developing the use of artificial intelligence together and nanotechnology for the next generation of vehicles. They are moving forward with the advanced development of deployment of a generation of vehicles powered by hybrid and by fuel cells.

Now, with the BRAC recommendations, the Department of Defense has recognized that greater efficiency and innovation will be possible through a greater concentration or clustering of related functions at the Detroit arsenal. That "center of excellence" at the Detroit Arsenal will take on additional tasks that are closely related to the Arsenal's core mission, which is ground vehicle development and acquisition. The Department of Defense's recommendations before you, which we support relative to the Detroit Arsenal, propose to cluster related functions.

And specifically I'm going to talk about three of those functions, to support them, because you, I think, will be hearing some opposition to the moving of these functions to the Detroit Arsenal from other states. So I want to spend the few minutes that I have to say why it makes so much common sense that these functions be clustered where the Department of Defense proposes to cluster them: at the Detroit arsenal.

First, they recommend relocating the Marine Corps Program Manager Advanced Amphibious assault facility from Woodbridge, Virginia to the Detroit Arsenal. Many of the issues facing amphibious assault vehicles are similar to those facing ground vehicles. They needed improved maintenance and reliability. They need more efficient propulsion systems. They need better ballistic protection and blast protection. The Marines will directly benefit from the similar research and development being conducted by the Army and the commercial automotive sector.

Likewise, transferring the ground vehicle armament acquisition positions from the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois to the Detroit Arsenal will increase efficiency. These positions that we'll be moving, or are proposed to be moved, are mostly logistics acquisition and technology experts who are responsible for armament parts and equipment that the Army has retained active design control over. From weapon systems to on-vehicle weapon control systems, these specialists work closely with the engineers at TARDEC right now. They have to regularly meet with, talk to, work with those engineers that are at the Detroit Arsenal to insure that those systems continue to operate successfully. At the same time, TARDEC engineers find ways to improve the Army's ground vehicle fleet. They need to work together. Again, this move is driven by the Defense Department's sensible efforts to consolidate related development and acquisition functions in one place.

Now, the expert on this subject is not me; it's General Laniers, who is commander of TACOM. And this is what he said recently. "The positions at Rock Island are TACOM positions. It's a piece of TACOM at Rock Island." And this is what General Lanier says. He's the overall commander of TACOM, whether it's Rock Island, whether it's the Detroit Arsenal or the other parts. General Lanier: "It's all about speed and agility now, rapidly changing your systems to meet the current needs in the field. There's a lot more communications with the acquisition guys and the logistic guys and the engineers can all sit face to face and discuss things and get back out and work on it. I think there will be a lot of improvements," he said. He has the firsthand day-to-day, hands-on experience. His judgment, I believe, should have great weight with this Commission.

Finally, the Pentagon has recommended moving the unmanned ground vehicle system's Joint Project Office from the Army Aviation and Missile Command in Huntsville, Alabama to Michigan. There are compelling reasons to do so. There are advanced technology efforts already going on in Michigan. Both commercial and university are working with TARDEC to integrate the new technology such as artificial intelligence, sensors, based on nanotechnology, advanced computer vision systems, into robotic vehicles. All of the Department's science and technology development objectives in ground vehicles and robotic technologies are already led by TARDEC, and most of the agencies that the Joint Project Office at Huntsville reports to and collaborates with are located in southeastern Michigan. Moving that ground vehicle robotics mission to the Detroit arsenal just makes common sense.

Now, Mr. Chairman and members of the Commission, the Detroit Arsenal is losing some functions under the proposal of the Department of Defense. It's not just gaining the functions I've outlined. It's also losing some functions. They recommend that the sea vehicle development and acquisition be consolidated into one "center of excellence" for sea vehicles in the Washington, D.C. area. Those gains in the Washington areas are slated to come from the Army's sea vehicle development acquisition program in Detroit and go to Virginia. We are not protesting the move. We don't object to it. It's so inherently logical under the very same logic which I just outlined. The Detroit Arsenal is slated to lose about 100 positions to the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus. While we're obviously concerned about any job loss in Michigan, shifting those jobs is consistent with the Department's attempt to leverage the advantages of collocation. That's what this is all about.

So the same logic which we believe compels the move of the Marine Corps program manager, the ground vehicle armament acquisition positions, and the unmanned ground vehicle project office to the Detroit Arsenal, moves us to accept the move from the Detroit Arsenal of sea vehicle development and accusation and of certain acquisition experts for commercially available items that can be brought through the DLA.

Now, as to the Army Garrison at Selfridge, the Department of Defense has recommended closing that facility. I wanted to submit for the record several letters that I've received from the community expressing deep concerns about that proposed closure.

The garrison's proposed closure could mean many of the support services that the military personnel in the greater Detroit area have relied on since World War II would be closed. The letters which I'm going to submit for the record make different arguments, but where they agree is on one critical point: Should the Army garrison at Selfridge be closed, it is essential that the Army land and support functions be transferred to the Air Force. For two reasons. One is the land is essential to the Air Force. And, two, some of the critical services will continue to need to be performed, including the commissary, the base exchange, and the pharmacy.

So that is what I would urge the Commission look at as a common position of the community at Selfridge. While they don't see precisely eye to eye on every aspect of this, and the letters will speak relative to that, when it comes to if you close that garrison, what should be done with the land, and the necessity that the Air Force take over the services, particularly relative to the commissary base exchange and the pharmacy, are something upon which there is agreement and consensus.

Again, thank you very much for your service as well as for the opportunity to be with you today.

http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=239204