Dozens of officials seek a way to save command

[Blue_Tires]

SUFFOLK

Officeholders from across Hampton Roads gathered Wednesday to begin mapping out a strategy they hope will reverse the impending closure of the Joint Forces Command - a plan that might include a lawsuit against the federal government.

The turnout of dozens of elected officials - local, state and federal - came nine days after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced he is shutting down the Norfolk-based military command and illustrated the potential economic impact of the decision and the alarm it has generated in the region.

U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, who presided over the gathering, raised the possibility of going to court to halt the closure, which Gates appears to have put on a fast track. Leaders at JFCOM have been told to implement the shutdown within 12 months.

"We need to slow this process down," Forbes told the group. "We can't take the possibility of litigation off the table."

But Forbes rejected the idea, raised by some at the meeting, that the region should develop a backup plan to salvage some of JFCOM's functions, perhaps saving some of the 6,000 jobs at stake.

"Before we start conceding anything or putting anything else on the table, we can never take the idea that the end justifies the means," Forbes said. "We've got to hold accountable the decision makers in this case."
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/08/dozens-officials-seek-way-save-command