Vance Air Force Base: Residents weren't concerned

By Dawn Marks and Jay F. Marks
Published: May 14, 2005

ENID - No one seemed particularly surprised Friday morning that Vance Air Force Base was saved from the base closure ax.

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VANCE AIR FORCE BASE

BIGGEST CHANGES
Vance is one of the Air Force bases that will gain some of the pilot training courses being shifted out of Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. The specific courses are Primary Phase Fixed-wing Pilot Training; Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals Training for Pilots; and Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals Training for Weapons System Officers. The Air Force said the changes would enhance joint training, reduce redundancy and eliminate excess capacity.

JOB GAINS/LOSSES
Vance will gain 93 military jobs and six civilian jobs.

BACKGROUND
Established in 1941 as an Army Air Corps base on land leased for $1 a year. Vance was taken over by the newly formed U.S. Air Force on Jan. 13, 1948, for pilot training.

The base was named for Lt. Col. Leon R. Vance Jr., a Medal of Honor recipient.

The base employs 1,250 military personnel and 1,260 civilians, and it serves as the No. 1 employer in Enid, which has a population of 47,045.

The base's missions revolve around basic pilot training for Air Force, Marines and Navy.

Lawrence and Sylvia Clark didn't even bother to pay attention to the news Friday.

Lawrence Clark said he wasn't too concerned about Friday's announcement of the Base Realignment and Closure list because he didn't expect it to affect his self-storage business.

Such sentiments prevailed after word spread about which bases would be closed.

Most people were optimistic Vance would survive this round of base closures so there was none of the dread that hung over the city in 1995, the last time the process occurred.

Home and auto sales stayed steady for the most part, dropping off only in the last few weeks.

"Not like it was in '95," car dealer Bruce Jackson said, "because they just didn't believe it could happen."

Jackson, who owns Johnsons of Enid Chrysler, said he was pleased Vance was not on the BRAC list because closing the base likely would have cost him as much as 30 percent of his business.

"We feel our prayers have been answered," he said. "I would say the mood is euphoric."

Coldwell Banker Realty III President Phil Edwards said the news is just as good for the local real estate market.

He expects sales and listings to pick up now that Vance is likely safe from closure.

"That was a great decision," he said of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's choice to leave Vance off the closing list.

That decision was a relief to many Enid residents.

Kim Sticht, whose husband is an instructor pilot at Vance, said she watched news coverage about base closures closely.

Sticht called it a stressful process, even though her husband was not at risk of losing his job. She said she was concerned about how it might affect the community, which is so tied to the base.

"We're happy for Enid," she said.

Brittany Brazil, who works at the Public Library of Enid and Garfield County, said losing the base might have endangered her place on the city's payroll.

"With no Vance there would be no Enid practically," she said. "So much is riding on the base being here."

Lu Paris said her son -- who is stationed at an air base in Germany -- has been telling her for years that Vance would be shut down.

"But I said 'Why would they close it when they just built all those new homes?'" she said.

Vance is building 54 new homes on the base for $10.8 million, some on land donated by the city of Enid.

Officials dedicated the first eight homes at the base Friday morning, about 90 minutes after people learned the base wasn't on Rumsfeld's list.

Master Sgt. Joe Davis and Tech Sgt. Mary Davis said they didn't mind opening their new home to a bevy of guests on hand for the occasion.

"This has been a blessing for us," said Mary Davis, who likely will be stationed at Vance for three more years. "Now I might never want to leave."