HILL AIR FORCE BASE -- With Utah's largest employer escaping virtually unscathed in the recent Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) recommendations, Hill Air Force Base is now adding up to 600 new jobs to their work force. Rick Mayfield, executive director of the Utah Defense Alliance (UDA), is quick to note that these jobs aren't tied in any way to BRAC --but are on their way. "We received a letter last Friday from the Air Force accepting our gift of equipment that will be purchased with the $5 million," he said. That refers to a $5 million appropriation by the 2005 Utah State Legislature. "Right now, we are working with the receivers on the base, for the programs that will receive the equipment," Mayfield continued.

Equipment orders should be signed by late this week or early next week, he said.

"All kinds of different things" are included in this sort of Christmas present appropriation, Mayfield said. Equip-ment ranges from software to a variety of instruments needed to perform various tasks on base.

"We had about 600 jobs identified," tied to the equipment that can be purchased with those funds, he said.

"Some of those people (to be hired) I think will be trained at the DATC (Davis Applied Tech-nology College), Weber State, and Ogden/Weber Applied Technology College," Mayfield said.

"It's been five months in coming," he said of the appropriation signing. "We're processing the gifting part through the Air Force. They're not typically used to states saying 'We're going to give you a gift.'"

He emphasized this gift has nothing to do with BRAC.

"A lot of people wanted to tie this to BRAC, but it was independent. We identified these jobs that could come if we could get the incentive money.

"There are still more jobs, if we can get more incentive money," Mayfield emphasized.

"We're hoping the Legis-lature will come through with $5 million or $10 million more" in the coming session, he said.

"That's what the UDA is about," the Fruit Heights resident said, referring to its efforts to bring more jobs, create more value for Hill, the Utah Test and Training Range, and other military installations in the state.

"The BRAC kind of disrupted our flow of protecting missions, bringing new jobs into the state," Mayfield said.

"We've worked with our Davis County legislators, kind of keeping them up to date on what we're doing, reminding them of the jobs that we've identified," he added.

Such groups as the Davis Chamber of Commerce, and its legislative affairs committee, which meets monthly, are among those groups that have also pushed this effort.



tbusselberg@davisclipper.com