New Robins advocates say BRAC remains a threat, and an opportunity

Although the community organization that advocates for Robins Air Force Base now has a part-time leader, it doesn’t mean the group perceives a reduced potential for a new round of base closures.

That’s what the new leadership team said Wednesday, the day after the 21st Century Partnership announced new hires and a new organizational structure.

Chrissy Miner will serve as a part-time senior adviser and will act in the role of executive director. Dan Rhoades, a Navy intelligence veteran and former civilian worker at Robins Air Force Base, will serve full-time as director of strategy.

“Not at all,” Miner said, when asked if having a part-time director means the partnership is less concerned about base closure. “Look where we are applying our resources. We are applying our resources to having a full-time strategist, which is the person that is really doing the research and analysis of what is happening and what laws are being passed and what is being discussed. That’s where the full time focus is in ensuring that we are well informed and well engaged.”

Rhoades added that a new Base Realignment and Closure Commission, or BRAC, is not necessarily bad. Robins has actually added jobs in previous BRAC.

“BRAC is not only a threat but an opportunity and we need to take advantage of that in how the community positions itself with both the (Department of Defense) and other areas in the country,” he said.

Rhoades served 24 years in the Navy and also worked as a civilian with Air Force Reserve Command at Robins. He was involved with implementing the 2005 BRAC, which is often pointed to by BRAC critics as an example of how base closure does not result in the promised savings.

Rhoades said a proposed amendment to National Defense Authorization Act attempts to address that issue, in part by mandating that any BRAC changes must not require new infrastructure to be built. He didn’t know if the amendment would make it into the bill this year, but it could be a move toward implementing a BRAC in the future.

Rhoades spent summers in Macon as a child and chose to settle in the area after retiring from the Navy. He said he is excited about his new job.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me to take the skills I’ve learned over time and apply them against a mission that will ensure that Middle Georgia is viable into the future,” he said.

This story was originally published August 16, 2017 at 1:00 PM with the headline "New Robins advocates say BRAC remains a threat, and an opportunity."