Georgia in running for new military center

Washington — Five Georgia lawmakers and Gov. Sonny Perdue asked the Defense Department Wednesday to make Georgia the home base for the military’s new U.S. Africa Command.

“Georgia provides a compelling location” for the center, the officials wrote in a letter urging that Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Fort McPherson or Fort Gillem be selected for the center.

AFRICOM, as the joint command center is known, now operates in Stuttgart, Germany. The Defense Department, which so far has been unable to reach an agreement for a base in Africa, is now looking at possible U.S. sites.

That has set off an energetic competition for the center, which is expected to have 1,300 personnel, about half of them civilian. South Carolina officials have been pushing for basing the installation in Charleston.

Teams from the Pentagon have visited all three of the potential Georgia sites, said Lindsay Mabry, spokeswoman for Sen. Saxby Chambliss, the Georgia Republican who has been leading the effort to win the installation for the state.

Chambliss and other Georgia officials last summer argued that forts Gillem in Forest Park and McPherson in Atlanta would be ideal sites. On Wednesday, they added Marietta’s Dobbins base to the list.

Dobbins has a “substantial runway network,” a rail system and an easy connection to the Port of Savannah, which is “already a point of shipment for a significant amount of cargo bound for Africa,” and has 52 acres for expansion, they said in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Both Gillem and McPherson are scheduled to close by 2011, and plans are under way to redevelop the property. Dobbins continues to operate, despite plans to close adjacent Naval Air Station Atlanta.

Also joining the effort were Sen. Johnny Isakson and Reps. Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Tom Price of Roswell and Jack Kingston of Savannah, all Republicans.

The letter pointed out that any of the Georgia sites would have the benefit of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which has direct flights to Africa.

In an additional letter touting the Marietta site, Gingrey and Price added that the “Cobb County community is proudly patriotic” and would “welcome the addition of AFRICOM.”

Sam Olens, chairman of the Cobb County Commission, confirmed that the command center would be well received but cautioned that he was not counting on the new arrival.

“While we certainly would be thrilled for AFRICOM to move to Dobbins, I think the betting money has got to be on it staying in Stuttgart,” he said.

“They already have a very secure location there and much assets. … I’d be surprised if it came stateside.”

AFRICOM, which was formed a year ago but only became a separate command as of Oct. 1, is the newest regional headquarters for the military. Although the U.S, has relatively few troops stationed in Africa, the new command would be in charge of military relations with 53 African countries.

— Staff writer Dan Chapman contributed to this article.