Serving Eastern New Mexico and West Texas
Clovis-Carver Public Library’s “Keep Cannon” banner remains in place a year after the base was placed on the BRAC list. (Staff photo: Tony Bullocks) By Marlena Hartz: CNJ staff writer More than a dozen people huddled around the television, awaiting word from the Department of Defense on the future of Cannon Air Force Base. Diana […]
Gabriel Bryant of Clovis shows his support for Cannon when members of the Brac Commission visited Clovis in June. (Staff photo) By Marlena Hartz: CNJ staff writer Remnants of the Base Realignment and Closure process linger around eastern New Mexico. Posted outside several businesses are thick, plastic banners. They were designed months ago in a […]
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici R-N.M. talks about issues concerning eastern New Mexico during an interview Friday at the Clovis News Journal. (Staff photo: Eric Kluth) U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., was in the region on Thursday and Friday and was present for a briefing at Clovis Community College with Air Force officials. The Air Force […]
By Kevin Wilson: Freedom Newspapers They’re not exactly sure where their trip will end, but supporters of Cannon Air Force Base insist they’re making great time. An eight-member mission team from the Air Force is scheduled to visit Cannon today to begin evaluating possible new missions for the base. The Base Closure and Realignment Commission […]
CNJ staff The Base Closure and Realignment Commission’s recommendations for reshaping the Defense Department’s infrastructure and force structure officially took effect Wednesday as expected, Air Force Press Service reported. The nine-member BRAC panel delivered its final report to President Bush on Sept. 8, and he, in turn, sent it to Congress for legislative review Sept. […]
Marlena Hartz: CNJ Staff Writer The Base Closure and Realignment Commission report will likely be finalized Wednesday by Congress, officially ending the latest BRAC process, according to local base advocates and New Mexico delegation spokespersons. Congress has 45 days from the day it receives the report from the president to enact a joint resolution to […]
Staff and wire reports WASHINGTON — The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to allow the first round of U.S. military base closures and consolidations in a decade, clearing the way for facilities across the country to start shutting their doors as early as next month. The head of local Cannon Air Force Base advocate group said […]
By Andy Jackson: CNJ staff writer A summer swoon brought on by the announcement that Cannon Air Force Base was targeted for closure appears to be easing, according to area officials. Gross receipts taxes for the first nine months of this year are up 7.84 percent from 2005 and 36 percent from 2001. Gross receipts […]
By Karl Terry: Freedom Newspapers Language approved Wednesday by the Senate Appropriations Committee would assure that personnel and assets are not lost at Cannon Air Force Base while the Secretary of Defense searches for a new mission for the base. The language, developed by U.S. Sens. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. and Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., in consultation […]
By Don Reid: Guest Columnist I watched the Base Closure and Realignment hearings with great anticipation and a little anxiety. I was moved by the comments of BRAC commissioners Sue Turner and Lloyd Newton concerning the closure of Cannon Air Force Base. I believe they both spoke from their hearts and did so eloquently. Some […]
By Ned Cantwell: State Columnist It was Clovis against the world. You think the La Cueva Bears are tough? How about the government putting a “closed” sign on Cannon Air Base and choking the town until it gasps for air? It’s a tough bunch, this Clovis gang, whether on the football field, at the coffee […]
By Jennifer Talhelm: The Associated Press WASHINGTON — New Mexico leaders are inviting Defense Department officials to visit Cannon Air Force Base, hoping that will help convince the Pentagon the base should stay open. The request comes days after the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted to move Cannon’s three F-16 fighter squadrons elsewhere, […]
Editor’s note: The Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted Friday to move planes and personnel away from Cannon, as recommended by the Department of Defense. But commissioners ordered Cannon “enclaved,” or open in limited fashion, until Dec. 31, 2009, in hopes DoD will find it another mission. Here are excerpts from some e-mailed letters: Removing […]
By David Stevens: Freedom Newspapers It may be two years or more before the F-16 fighter jets and their crews and support staff leave Cannon Air Force Base, but the ideas for what happens after that are already rolling in. Andrew Schulman, a legislative aide for Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said there’s a potential for […]
Freedom Newspapers It wasn’t the sonic boom we wanted to hear resounding Friday through the maze of rings that make up the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. But undoubtedly its occupants heard the loud BRAC cheer given to misguided Department of Defense and Air Force leaders who lost their fight to close two key air bases, […]
Editor’s note: The Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted Friday to move planes and personnel away from Cannon, as recommended by the Department of Defense. But commissioners ordered Cannon “enclaved,” or open in limited fashion, until Dec. 31, 2009, in hopes DoD will find it another mission. Here are excerpts from some of the e-mailed […]
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson watches the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission deliberate on Cannon Air Force Base on Friday in Arlington, Va., outside Washington. (AP photo) By Marlena Hartz: Freedom Newspapers The federal debate that traced a course for Cannon Air Force Base was like the entire Base Closure and Realignment process — […]
By Marlena Hartz: Freedom Newspapers The word rang out over and over during federal deliberations over the fate of Cannon Air Force Base: enclave. It is the word Base Closure and Realignment Commissioner Samuel Skinner used to keep the base open. In his Cannon amendment, Skinner suggested the base enclave — slowly diminish its capacities […]
Clovis City Commissioner Randy Crowder watches the Base Closure and Realignment on Friday at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. Fellow City Commissioner Cathy Haynes is at right. By Marlena Hartz: Freedom Newspapers Clovis was silent as federal deliberations over Cannon Air Force Base trudged into the early afternoon Friday. Traffic seem to crawl and faces turned […]
