DEFENSE PROPOSAL MAY HELP A.V.; SINGLE COMMAND COULD BOOST AEROSPACE WORK.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

The Defense Department is considering placing all of its test and evaluation work under a single command, a move that local officials say would strengthen the Antelope Valley's effort to attract more aerospace work.

The idea is to have a single manager in charge of all the military's test and evaluation work for new aircraft, missiles and other equipment, rather than having each individual service manage its own.

The Defense Science Board, a Pentagon advisory panel, recommended such a command structure and Defense Department officials are giving it serious consideration.

``We are just now getting organized on how we are going forward,'' a senior Defense Department official said of test and evaluation consolidation. ``We are looking at a single management structure.''

Supporters of the Southwest Defense Complex - a proposal to center test and evaluation work in the expansive military bases located in the U.S. Southwest, including Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center - say such a move supports their efforts.

Whoever is in charge of test and evaluation work in a single command structure would be pressured by budget constraints to find the most suitable place for that work, which the supporters argue is the western bases.

``They will have to assess where they can do the job and that is not in the East,'' said Bob Johnstone, a former Edwards Air Force Base official who is now an aerospace consultant for the city of Lancaster.

In a report to Congress, the Defense Science Board panel recommended creating an ``All-Service Range Command'' as the first step in the process.

``A study group should identify specific sites and sub-sites that should be unified using the White Sands Missile Range, Edwards AFB, and China Lake testing facilities as the base,'' the report said. ``This identification should be completed by the end of calendar year 1998. At that time, a core organization should be established to assume management responsibilities for this Western Test Range Command. This core organization should have command and control, programming, budgeting, and base support responsibilities for the included sites.''

U.S. Rep. Howard ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, sent a letter to Floyd Spence, chairman of the House National Security Committee, supporting the panel's report.

``I agree wholeheartedly with this recommendation and would even expand it to include the Point Mugu Naval Air Station, Nellis AFB, and the Utah Test and Training Range,'' McKeon wrote. ``Unifying the operation of DoD's (Department of Defense) range assets will not only save money, but will demonstrate to Congress how military installations can be jointly managed. The concept can then be expanded to other installations.''

If the Defense Department decides to push the single command idea, an intense fight is sure to ensue. East Coast congressional representatives will balk as will senior officials from the individual military services.

One Pentagon official said the Defense Science Board panel's report is ``so aggressive it's got a lot of people on the Hill uptight.''

There are also difficult structure issues to address, such as how to turn four test and evaluation revenue streams - Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps - into one.

In the meantime, supporters of the Southwest Defense Complex plan to gather in Phoenix in early July to formalize an alliance and select a board. The plan calls for two board members to be selected from each of the five states in the complex - California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico.

The California bases in the proposed complex include Edwards, China Lake, Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Air to Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, and the Fort Irwin National Training Center.

Other bases include the Yuma Proving Grounds and Marine Corps Air Station in Arizona; Naval Air Station in Fallon and the Weapons Tactical Center and Electronic Warfare Ranges at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada; the Utah Test and Training Range; and the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

In all, the proposed complex covers 20,241 square miles of land, 325,000 square miles of sea area and 331,354 square miles of controlled air space.

PROPOSED SOUTHWEST DEFENSE COMPLEX BASES

Edwards Air Force Base

China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center

Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center

Vandenberg Air Force Base

Marine Corps Air to Ground Combat Center-Twentynine Palms

Fort Irwin National Training Center

Yuma Proving Grounds

Marine Corps Air Station-Yuma, Ariz.

Naval Air Station-Fallon, Nev.

Weapons Tactical Center and Electronic Warfare Ranges at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

Utah Test and Training Range

White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

CAPTION(S):

Box

BOX: (Ran in AV Edition only) PROPOSED SOUTHWEST DEFENSE COMPLEX BASES