State taking action to protect military bases

NEWTON, Mass. (WWLP) - Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray announced an expansion of the state’s efforts to protect its six military bases on Wednesday.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Massachusetts High Technology Council in Newton Wednesday morning, Murray announced the creation of four subcommittees that will be added to a task force whose goal it is to preserve and promote the bases.

There is concern about the future of military bases nationwide as lawmakers try to cut the nation’s more than $1 trillion deficit. Two of Massachusetts’ military bases are located in the western part of the state: Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee and Barnes Air National Guard Base in Westfield. The state’s other bases are Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod, the U.S. Soldiers Systems Center in Natick, and Fort Devens.

The bases provide thousands of jobs statewide, and closure or cuts could be devastating.

“During my visits to each of the state’s military bases, it has become even more clear how critically important our military bases are to the state’s local and regional economies,” Murray said.

The new subcommittees Murray announced Wednesday are Business, Industry and Military Alignment; Education, Innovation and Workforce Development; Community and Municipal Support and Engagement; and Military Mission, Operations, Opportunities and Efficiencies. The subcommittees will bring together groups such as MassDevelopment and the New England Council along with defense contractors and chambers of commerce leaders, something that Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki says will be to the benefit of the state’s bases.

“By expanding the Task Force to include the business and defense industry, we can work towards delivering the best resources, equipment, and technology for Massachusetts’ military bases,” Bialecki said.

The state task force, chaired by Murray, was created following an executive order issued in February.