Harford County residents are again being urged to voice their concerns about the future of Aberdeen Proving Ground, this time at a public meeting Thursday to discuss a potential reduction of an estimated 4,300 civilian and military jobs at the installation over the next five years.
The Army is hosting the public listening session at 6 p.m. at the Amoss Center at Harford Technical High School at 200 Thomas Run Road in Bel Air.
The meeting will be the first time senior Army officials have directly addressed the prospect for job cutbacks at APG, even though local officials have been expressing concerns about them for more than a year because of an Army-wide force restructuring.
"Show your support for Harford County's leading economic engine and a center of excellence for research, development, test and evaluation for our nation's defense," Harford County Executive Barry Glassman said in a statement Monday. "We need to pack the 1,000-seat auditorium and demonstrate to the Department of Defense our commitment to APG and its more than 90 tenant organizations. The specialized capabilities at Aberdeen Proving Ground make it a unique science and technology powerhouse paramount to the Capital Region."
"Each of us has a family member or knows someone who works at APG; all of us benefit from the technology and testing that passes through our installation and keeps our nation and our soldiers safe," Glassman continued. "Please join us this Thursday. Let's show up in strength and demonstrate the significance of APG to our community."
A similar community style meeting, billed as a "call to action" to show support for APG, was held in August at Aberdeen High School and drew about 250 people, including most elected local elected officials. The session was sponsored by the Army Alliance, a private group that advocates for APG, and the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor, a quasi-public regional organization spearheaded by Harford's Office of Economic Development.
The Army is dealing with federal budgetary mandates that it reduce its military and civilian components by some 70,000 positions over the next five years, an "unprecedented" reduction, in the words of one official, as the Army transitions to a more modern force of 420,000.
But a final decision about how APG and other installations may be affected could still be months, if not years away, Kelly Luster, director of communications for the U.S. Army Garrison's Public Affairs Office at APG, said in a mid-November interview. For instance, he explained, some positions could be lost gradually from attrition rather than by broad reductions in force that amount to layoffs.
"We can't say exactly [how many jobs could be lost]; no decision has been made," Luster said. "These are estimates. We are still in the process of figuring things out. All factors are being taken into consideration."
An Army study released in November that assessed impacts of such a reduction at APG assumed losses of 1,000 permanent soldiers and 3,272 civilians employed directly by the Army. Employment at the Harford County installation is 22,000, and the projected cuts could all but wipe out the job gains the post realized from the base realignment, or BRAC, process from 2006-11.
Between 2012-14, the Army surveyed potential impacts from mandated reductions at 30 posts, including APG and Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County. The complete study can be viewed at http://aec.army.mil/Portals/3/nepa/Army2020SPEA-2.pdf
This so-called programmatic environmental assessments determined there would be "no significant impacts, other than socio-economic impacts," at APG, concluding that no further environmental assessment is necessary.
Among the conclusions were that overall environmental impact to air quality, biological resources, water quality, wetlands and noise would be beneficial to minor, from having fewer people working or living at the 72,000-acre installation and fewer activities.
The study also concluded there would be beneficial impacts from expected reductions in energy demand and traffic, with minor impacts in generation and handling of hazardous materials and hazardous waste.
But the socio-economic impacts projected were "significant."
According to the study, 6,485 spouses and dependent children would be directly affected by the reductions of 4,272 positions, a total of 10,757 people. The 1,000 Army positions have an average annual income of $46,760, the civilian positions $64,203.
The analysis projects a loss of 860 direct contract service jobs and states "an additional 2,189 induced jobs would be lost because of the reduction of demand for goods and services."
Based on 2012 estimates, the total reduction of 7,321 jobs amounts to 1.2 percent of the total employed labor force of 592,517 in APG's region of interest, or ROI, which includes Harford, Baltimore, Cecil and Kent counties and a population of 1.2 million.
The estimated loss of income was $382.4 million, about .6 percent of the ROI total, according to the report. Sales of taxable retail goods and services were estimated at $687 million.
The study used different variables to assess potential population loss, noting not every family or individual losing a job would move from the region. It did note, however, that some reduced demand for housing would result and that there would be fewer children in Harford County public schools.
Among local schools, Roye-Williams Elementary between Havre de Grace and Aberdeen has the highest estimated military-connected enrollment, 66 percent of 546 students, while Aberdeen Middle and High schools have the highest percentages of military-connected enrollment at 17 percent, according to the study, which used 2012 figures.
The study also notes there could be a reduction in demand for services at APG for law enforcement, fire and EMS and medical care providers.
APG's Luster said the Army wants to hear from communities affected by impending cutbacks before any final decisions are made. According to the Army, the environmental assessments of the 30 posts have generated more than 110,000 comments from the public, members of Congress and state and local officials.
"Decisions on which units and organizations have been selected for reductions have not been made," notes a statement issued through Luster's Office Monday. "The analysis of environmental and socio-economic impacts will help force structure decision makers as they identify the specific units and organizations that will be reduced in the upcoming years."