Story originally printed in the Tomah Journal or online at www.tomahjournal.com

Published - Friday, May 02, 2008

Editorial: Sparta doesn't comprehend Fort McCoy's fundamental mission

Fort McCoy exists for one reason: the defense of the United States of America.

That is the only appropriate framework to discuss the issue of whether a 100-bed motel/recreation facility should be built for Fort McCoy personnel and their families.

The Tomah City Council gave its blessing for the project, but the Sparta City Council objected, which effectively brings the project to a halt. Brian Branstetter, president of the company that owns the Sparta Best Western Motel, raised questions about the project’s economic impact.

“I don’t think it’s good for Sparta or Tomah,” Branstetter said.

Branstetter is correct that an increasingly self-contained military post means fewer dollars flowing into the local economy. Military bases, especially those that deliver most services needed by soldiers and their families within the confines of the base, are overrated as economic development. It’s very possible that Fort McCoy’s 60,000 acres could be more valuable to the local economy as farmland, timber land or a state forest (the first two uses would put the land on the tax roll). Communities where military bases have closed have done surprisingly well after the land and facilities were converted to other enterprises.

But Fort McCoy doesn’t exist to put dollars into the local economy; it exists to train soldiers to defend the United States. In a tough recruiting climate when the military is taking high school dropouts and convicted felons, it’s logical to offer amenities that maintain morale and encourage retention. An accessible on-post motel with recreation facilities seems to meet that criteria. To object on economic grounds compromises Fort McCoy’s fundamental mission.

Perhaps America once had the luxury of treating military bases as welfare projects. That luxury no longer exists. American troops, wisely or not, are fighting difficult wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the federal government has run up a debt of $9 trillion. If the motel project is a cost-effective way to enhance national security, it should be built. If it’s not a cost-effective way to enhance national security, or if the military has more pressing projects (inhabitable barracks at Fort Bragg, for example), it should not be built.

End of story.

All stories copyright 2006 Tomah Journal and other attributed sources.