Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. and Rome Mayor Joseph R. Fusco have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel requesting that Griffiss International Airport be considered for a new multi-billion dollar missile defense system on the East Coast.That's nice, but does Griffiss "International" qualify?
According to GlobalSecurity.org the Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) program site
... would contain launch stations (silos), Interceptor Receiving and Processing Building, Interceptor Storage Facilities, and additional support facilities. Approximately 243 hectares (600 acres) would be required to support the GBI missile field and associated technical facilities. When the GBI site and associated technical facilities become fully operational, total site related employment would be approximately 150 to 200 personnel. Explosive Safety Quantity-Distance (ESQD) criteria would be used to establish safe distances from explosive hazard areas, such as solid propellants, to nonrelated facilities and roadways. These regulations are established by the Department of Defense. For the GBI silos, there would be a minimum 380-meter (1,250-foot) ESQD from inhabited buildings. In addition, the Interceptor Receiving and Processing Building and the Interceptor Storage Facilities would also have a 380-meter (1,250-foot) ESQD from inhabited buildings.Six hundred acres is almost a square mile, which is a lot of space. Perhaps more restrictive is the 1,250 minimum distance required from inhabited buildings for each silo. Just what can be fit into Griffiss "International" Airport?
When you get down to it, is it really worth taking up all this space -- and (again) making us a prime target for intercontentinental missiles -- for a mere 150 to 200 jobs? That's only 1/4 to 1/3 of a job per acre!
Ball-istic . . . or Un-Real-istic?
4 comments:
It obviously does not matter to Picente whether or not Griffiss meets the specifications he him to issue one of his pie-in-the-sky economic development press releases.
How can Picente make this proposal to the DOD without the concurrence of the Board of Legislators?
Do Picente & Fusco realize that Rome H.S. is located within Griffis? Duh! Do these 2 actually think that the DOD will locate this type of facility a stone's throw from a h.s. with a couple thousand students? Hello! Is anyone home, the lights are on!
Maybe Picente should try to attract businesses that may actually come here, instead of spending his time blowing smoke up our behinds.
The comments and the original post make a seriuos error in taking these guys on the level. They have nothing to lose by sending letters that are meaningless as long as the local media does not ask them penetrating questions. So, they wind up with getting headlines and an impression of working hard on our behalf. It's all bit of a game that they laugh about behind closed doors. And, yet the media plays it too.
I may be off topic, but here goes. If the County has an $8 million $$$ surplus, then why are my taxes going up?
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