Editing Loring Air Force Base (section)

=====BRAC 1991 and closure=====
[[File:Loring Flightline.jpg|thumb|240px|Flightline at Loring in 1968, and [[Loring Air Force Base Alert Area|alert area]], which stood down in 1991]]
In 1991, [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] [[Dick Cheney]], upon the recommendation of [[Secretary of the Air Force]] [[Donald B. Rice]], identified Loring and five other SAC bases for closure through the [[Base Realignment and Closure|BRAC Commission]]. The commission recommended that the 42d Bomb Wing be disestablished, and the B-52Gs transferred to the [[410th Bomb Wing]] at [[K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base|K.I. Sawyer AFB]] near [[Marquette, Michigan]]. The KC-135 aircraft were realigned to [[United States Air Force Reserve|USAF Reserve]] and other active units.<ref name="BRAC">{{cite web|title=Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, 1991 Report to the President|url=http://www.defense.gov/brac/docs/1991com.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040314222117/http://www.defense.gov/brac/docs/1991com.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 March 2004|access-date=16 March 2014}}</ref>

The justification for the closure of Loring was that the Air Force had six more strategic bases than were needed to support the number of bomber and tanker aircraft in the Defense Department's Structure Plan. The base was evaluated against eight selection criteria and a large number of subelements specific to Air Force bases and missions. Although Loring was in good condition and had strong community support, it ranked low in the criteria when compared to 20 other bases in the strategic category. One item that hurt Loring was its limited peacetime value as a tanker base, as well as its distance from bombing ranges. The commission did note that the facilities at Loring were above average, and the cost to close Loring would be low, the latter which contributed to its closure.<ref name="BRAC" />

The commission also projected an impact on the future of the community; 22,000 people were projected to leave the region with 9,900 direct and indirect jobs affected, and a loss of over $92 million of regional income. This was in contrast to a regional population of over 49,100, available jobs of 33,320, and an annual income of $755 million. The net savings by the end of 1997 from closing the base was $182 million, or about $61.8 million annually.<ref name="BRAC" />

As the Cold War ended, so did the mission of SAC, and it was disestablished on 1 June 1992. The last B-52 departed Loring in November 1993, and ceremonies were held in February 1994 to celebrate the end of the flying mission. The following month saw the last KC-135 depart and after 41 years, Loring AFB officially closed on 30 September 1994.<ref name="HAERLoring" /><ref name="BRAC" />