BISHOP: “MCLB is not on the list”

ALBANY, GA. Upon receiving the much-anticipated list of bases scheduled for realignment and closure (BRAC), Congressman Bishop announced that the Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) located in Albany, Georgia will remain open.

“I could not be happier with this news, but I am not surprised,” said Congressman Bishop. “Since this most recent round of base closings was announced, my office, the Governor's office, the Albany Chamber of Commerce and community support groups have rallied to shore up support for the Marine Corps Logistics Base. We have worked hard and done well, but I have found that the exceptional job being done at MCLB speaks for itself.”

Originally commissioned as the Marine Corps Depot of Supplies in 1952, MCLB Albany has proven itself as a world-class military depot with the flexibility to meet the rapidly changing needs of the U.S Marine Corps. Recently, Congress approved a supplemental appropriations bill, which funded the retrofitting of 350 land assault vehicles for use in operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

MCLB is one of Southwest Georgia's top employers, with an overall economic impact of more than $1 billion a year. Apart from the more than 516 marines stationed in Albany, 1,869 civilians work on the Marine Corps base.

“MCLB is vital to our national defense and to our community. This decision not only underscores the importance of MCLB, it makes it easier to ask my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to increase federal support for the base.”

BRAC is the congressionally authorized process that the Department of Defense has used to reorganize its base structure to more “efficiently and effectively” support U.S. forces, increase operational readiness and facilitate new ways of doing business. Today’s announcement comes as the Secretary of Defense forwards his recommendations to the BRAC Commission. The commission will then forward its report on the recommendations to the president by Sept. 8, 2005.