mr. chairman , i rise today in opposition to h. j. res. 65 , a resolution disapproving the recommendations of the defense base realignment and closure commission . 
it is clear that we have too much military infrastructure in this country , whose operations and maintenance compete for scarce resources needed by our warfighter and modernization efforts . 
this brac process has become the most effective way to rid the military of installations that provide minimal military value . 
i am pleased that the commission recognized the importance of keeping the operations and sustainment systems group -- ossg -- at maxwell-gunter afb in montgomery , alabama . 
after an extensive review , the brac commissioners did not adopt the department of defense 's recommendation to realign the ossg and its 1 , 251 civilian and military jobs from maxwell-gunter afb to hanscom afb . 
the brac decision was due in large part to the world-class combat operational support provided by the ossg to air force bases and dod agencies around the world from montgomery for more than 30 years . 
it did not need to be moved in order to continue to perform this critical national security mission . 
the ossg is the only organization with experience fielding systems across the entire air force and dod . 
moreover , gunter is home to one of four major defense information systems agency -- disa -- nodes , which provide the backbone on which air force systems run . 
the disa presence , along with the ossg , enables testing of enterprise-wide combat support software applications in an operational environment . 
with its extensive background , experience , and expertise , this organization is truly a one of a kind national resource and belongs in montgomery . 
while i intend to vote for the implementation of the commission 's recommendations , i remain very troubled by some of the things the commission did not do . 
specifically , i have trouble seeing the logic in overturning dod 's recommendation to move the aviation logistics school to fort rucker . 
i am disappointed that the commission failed to see the significance of co-locating the aviation logistics school with the aviation pilot training under one roof at fort rucker . 
this move would have consolidated army aviation training and doctrine development at fort rucker . 
i still hold the belief that consolidating aviation logistics training with the aviation center and school will foster consistency , standardization , and training proficiency . 
as the premier rotary wing aviation training center in the united a second notable absence from the brac recommendations is consolidation of rotary wing pilot training at fort rucker . 
although dod did not make this recommendation , i believe a thorough review of the facts would have led the commission to include this in its final list . 
currently , both the army and air force conduct their rotary wing pilot training at fort rucker , which has sufficient capability to support navy initial rotary wing pilot training as well . 
numerous reviews conducted by dod and the gad dating back to 1974 have been made regarding the relocation of this navy mission . 
in addition , when colin powell was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff , he testified before the house armed services committee that he supported this consolidation at fort rucker . 
similarly , the overwhelming majority of the reviews have called for the navy to move their operation to fort rucker for a number of reasons . 
past studies have indicated that tens of millions of dollars per year could be saved by going through with this consolidation . 
unit costs would be reduced for both aircraft maintenance and logistics . 
additionally , both the army and the navy use the same training helicopter which would allow for further savings by using the army 's existing instructor pilots . 
this consolidation will also advance a key component of dod 's way ahead , jointness . 
finally , i was troubled to see that the commission supported the dod recommendation to move the aviation technical test center -- attc -- to redstone arsenal . 
this issue is very close to me personally as i have been intimately involved with it for over 10 years . 
in the mid-90s , there was an effort made within the pentagon to move the attc out of fort rucker . 
as is the case now , i was very disturbed by this , and began to investigate in an effort to determine if this would be best for the army , highlighted by a personal meeting with the then-secretary of the army , togo west . 
this culminated when my amendment was included in the house version of fiscal year 1996 national defense authorization act -- h.r. 1530 -- which blocked the army 's proposal to relocate the attc until an outside independent study at fort rucker , the attc is able to have their fleet of approximately 40 test aircraft maintained by the large maintenance and logistics operation that supports the training mission on post . 
a move to redstone disregards these significant costs of keeping the test fleet flying . 
the vast pool of pilots and aircraft from the aviation center also facilitates the attc 's ability to realize a greater return on the testing dollar invested . 
another problem with this recommendation revolves around airspace . 
as the home of army aviation , fort rucker is blessed with over 32 , 000 square miles of airspace to conduct its mission . 
this irreplaceable natural asset can not be duplicated in huntsville . 
a potential move also undermines the synergies that currently exist between the schoolhouse and the experimental pilots . 
finally , with fort rucker being the army proponent for unmanned aerial vehicles -- uavs , it is crucial that the attc be able to leverage the expertise associated with this proponency to conduct its tests on uavs . 
while i do not agree with all of the recommendations included in the commission 's report , i do recognize that the brac process must go forward . 
at present , dod has excess infrastructure which needs to be realigned or closed in order to achieve the billions of savings which will result from the implementation of these recommendations . 
as costs of weapons systems crucial to winning the war on terror continue to rise , it is important that we explore all avenues in order to find the money necessary to give the warfighter everything he or she needs to complete their mission . 
in conclusion , i would like to thank all of the commissioners and their staffs for their tireless efforts on one of the most thankless jobs in government . 
i urge a no vote on the resolution and yield back the balance of my time . 
