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Panel votes to save bases in New Mexico, South DakotaJudge rules against Pentagon on Pennsylvania Guard unit
ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- An independent commission voting on the Pentagon's recommendations to close military bases handed victories Friday to two states that campaigned for their major Air Force bases to be saved. In a blow to the Defense Department and a political victory for South Dakota's congressional delegation, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted to keep open Ellsworth Air Force Base in that state. It also voted to keep open Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico. That was a qualified victory, however. The panel voted to reduce operations at the base and called on the Pentagon to find the base a new purpose. Depending on the outcome, the panel said the base could close at the end of 2009. The Defense Department also lost a round in a court over its recommendation to deactivate the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania National Guard. A federal district judge ruled that the Pentagon does not have the authority to do so without the approval of the state's governor. In all three states, many officials and residents were relieved -- especially in South Dakota, where Ellsworth is the second-largest employer, behind the state government. "Hot diggity damn, we did it!" said Ken Davis, commissioner of Pennington County, South Dakota. He called it "the greatest day that's happened in South Dakota for a long, long time." Ellsworth is a major base for B-1B bombers. The Pentagon's decision in May to recommend closing the base as part of a series of cost-cutting measures concerned Sen. John Thune, a freshman South Dakota Republican who unseated then-Sen. Minority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat, last year. During his campaign, Thune repeatedly claimed he would have more success at keeping the base open, saying that as a fellow Republican he would have greater access to President Bush. Thune and fellow members of the state's bipartisan congressional delegation launched an intense campaign to convince the very influential BRAC panel to overturn the recommendation. "This argument was about the merits of this base and its relevance to our national security," Thune said at a news conference Friday immediately after the panel's vote. "And we believe that the BRAC commission saw it that way as well." Thune said the commission's process "was insulated from politics," and that South Dakotans "pulled together and put the politics aside" in the effort to save the base. In an interview with CNN, Thune said the delegation had been "very stressed out" in advance of the commission's vote. Thune praised all members of the delegation, noting that he had worked closely with Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota -- who during a Senate run in 2002 defeated Thune. "We were able to bring different strengths," Thune said. Rep. Stephanie Herseth, also a South Dakota Democrat, called the panel's decision good for the entire country. Thune had stopped raising money for Republican candidates after the Defense Department listed Ellsworth for closure. Some viewed that move as a strike against the White House for failing to keep the base off the list. But Thune said he had simply decided to commit his time to saving the base. "That's all past now," Thune said. Earlier this week the commission split with the Pentagon over another very high-profile recommendation. The panel said the Navy submarine base in New London, Connecticut, can stay open. The list of recommended changes must ultimately be approved by the president and Congress. 
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