Panel builds case for bases

Not so long ago, a state legislative committee on military affairs, along with some members of the Georgia congressional delegation and experts on military business and procurement procedures, made a stop at Fort Benning as part of a series of meetings at the state’s armed services installations.

The focus of the Benning meeting was the same as at all the others: to talk about ways to strengthen the case for Georgia’s bases before the next Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process begins – which it inevitably will, even if we don’t know when.

People here understand the immediate impact in terms of jobs and growth; statewide, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the economic impact of military installations was around $20 billion.

One of the purposes of the state House Study Committee on Military Affairs, as reported by the Macon Telegraph, is the creation of laws to benefit families of men and women in service. One, proposed by the Pentagon, is a law that would allow military spouses to transfer professional licenses from one state to another when reassignment forces them to move. It’s the same principle as policies that let children of military families transfer many school credits from one district to another. Other ideas include college loan relief and tax breaks for military retirement benefits.

But making military installations BRAC-resistant involves more than just benefits for service members and their families. It also involves making those installations essential to the core mission of the armed services.

One lawmaker on the state tour, Rep. Heath Clark, R-Warner Robins, told the Telegraph that national defense demands a military work force better trained in STEM and other skills.

House Speaker David Ralston,R-Blue Ridge, has said he will create a long-term committee devoted to military policy, one whose mission specifically includes strong lines of communication with the decision makers in both Washington and Arlington.

“I feel it is imperative,” Ralston said in a formal statement, “that we continue this conversation.” No argument, from either side of the aisle.

Plaque of honor

When Atlanta media mogul Ted Turner bought the Atlanta Braves in the mid-1970s, they were a notoriously woeful team. Now they had a local owner willing to write the big checks. He just didn’t really understand who ought to get them.

John Schuerholz, who as the game’s youngest major-league general manager at 41 had turned the Kansas City Royals into a championship team, did. Turner lured him to Atlanta, and the result was 14 straight division titles, five National League pennants and the 1995 World Series championship.

On Sunday, Schuerholz was unanimously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. When he is officially inducted next July 30, he will join four other key figures from the team’s long run of success — former manager Bobby Cox and the unparalleled pitching rotation of Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. Schuerholz deserves to be in that company, and in the company of the game’s all-time greats.

Also elected Sunday was former Commissioner Bud Selig.

This story was originally published December 5, 2016 at 2:26 PM with the headline "Panel builds case for bases."