SOUTHWESTERN STATES SEEKING DEFENSE WORK.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Antelope Valley officials will join representatives of five Southwestern states Wednesday in Phoenix to lay the foundation of an alliance they ultimately hope will bring defense jobs to the region.

The two-day meeting will be the first for all the participants in the Southwest Defense Alliance, an organization of civic and political leaders trying to bring military test and evaluation projects to the region.

``The main thing is to get (it) broadened out to a five-state alliance rather than just a California thing,'' said Bob Johnstone, a former Edwards Air Force Base official who is now a consultant with the city of Lancaster's aerospace office. ``It's the first time we've had all five states together.''

Gathering in Phoenix will be representatives from California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and New Mexico. California's delegation will have representatives from Los Angeles, Kern, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.

The alliance's purpose is to promote the Southwest Defense Complex, a concept that calls for placing the military's test and evaluation work at bases in the southwestern United States.

Backers of the concept say the Southwest is ideally suited for such work given its miles of open space, clear weather and varied terrain. East Coast bases, they say, must deal with urban encroachment and frequently poor weather.

The California bases in the proposed complex are Edwards Air Force Base, China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, 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.

``My hope is we can come to a mutual understanding that the mission enhancement of the complex is important to the survival of the defense bases,'' said Kern County Supervisor Steve Perez, whose district includes Edwards.

In addition to Perez and Johnstone, other Antelope Valley representatives planning to attend the meeting are U.S. Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, whose district includes Edwards; Howard Brooks, executive director of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade; and Phil Brady, also with Lancaster's aerospace office.

Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, plans to send a videotaped message and a staff member to the conference.

Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels and San Bernardino County Supervisor Kathy Davis will also be among the representatives from California scheduled to attend the conference.

``This conference is a testing of the waters, a planning conference to enlist the interest of the other states,'' Mikels said. ``I would like to walk away knowing there are interested parties in each state we could work with. I would consider that a success.''

In a June 18 prelude to the Phoenix conference, congressional representatives from all the alliance states except Utah met with Jacques Gansler, undersecretery of defense for acquisition and technology, and Patricia Sanders, the Pentagon's director of testing and evaluation, to discuss the Southwest Defense Complex.

The Defense Department officials made no commitments to the complex concept, but congressional staffers described the meeting as positive.

Other bases included in the complex are 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 and 331,354 square miles of controlled airspace.

``It's a viable idea. It's something that can work,'' Mikels said. ``With the defense downsizing, we need to be smart about our defense dollars.''