Statement from Gov. Christine Gregoire on BRAC proposals, May 13, 2005

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2005

The state had three goals in the BRAC process:

First, we wanted to avoid base closures. We achieved that.

Second, we wanted to avoid realignments of base missions that would have large economic impacts. There are some realignments but we were able to avoid major problems.

Third, we wanted to be in a position to allow new missions to come to Washington. We were successful there, too.

Overall, it was a great success.

This great day did not happen by accident. We have had the benefit of incredibly motivated and involved community advocates, who have led the effort in supporting their bases.

And we have also had a lot of hard work by our Congressional delegation. It�s been a bipartisan effort in supporting our state�s bases.

It�s now like we�re in a 26.2-mile marathon and we�ve finished 26 miles. Now we are going to need to sprint to the end. It is important to note that for every gain for Washington, other states will be losing.

We stand together, my office, our federal delegation, our state Legislature, and our
military communities. We plan to continue working together, long after this BRAC process is complete, to address the long-term needs of our military communities.