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Brian Adey
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County Executive Joseph A. Griffo today unveiled a promotional video which has been produced as part of the effort to keep the Air Force Research Laboratory off a list of proposed military installation closings next year.

The County Executive was joined by Steven J. DiMeo, President of Mohawk Valley EDGE, which commissioned the video, and Ken Tompkins of Niagara Mohawk, a National Grid Company, which provided major funding for the video. EDGE is leading the community effort to protect the AFRL Rome Research Site and two other military functions in Rome from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.

Produced on CD-ROM, the interactive digital video presentation demonstrates the essential, successful and innovative work carried out at the lab. The presentation is divided into a general overview and three main sections which provide additional detail on areas which collectively define the Air Force Research Laboratory:

· Vital statistics on the lab, and the accomplishments of its scientists;

· The unique Rome Partnership Model which has resulted in AFRL’s new $25 million Information Directorate headquarters on its 110-acre campus within Griffiss Park, where support services are municipally provided;

· The transformational technology which is developed at the lab to aid the modern warfighter.

“The AFRL Rome Research Site is an instrumental part of our nation’s modern defense effort, and this video demonstrates this fact,” County Executive Griffo said. “Over the next several months, we will continue to tell the story of AFRL to everyone we can reach in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. Our message is simple: AFRL, the people who work there and the technology they produce are vital to America’s defense.

“The technology being developed at the lab today is aiding battlefield commanders today, while examples of older lab technology such as that used to develop latex paint and the internet are being used in everyday life,” the County Executive continued.

Mohawk Valley EDGE is spearheading the efforts to keep AFRL, the Northeast Air Defense Sector and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service center - all located at Griffiss Business and Technology Park - from possible closure next year.

“Our objective is to make the case for our facilities now, before the recommendations are made to the commission, so that we are not included in the proposed closures,” said Mr. DiMeo.

Under the schedule adopted by Congress, the Defense Secretary will recommend facilities for closure or realignment to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission by May 16, 2005. The BRAC Commission will then review the Secretary’s proposals before making a final decision.

In June, County Executive Griffo and Mr. DiMeo met with several members of New York State’s Congressional delegation and key Defense Department officials at the Pentagon during a series of meetings in Washington, D.C. They also took part in New York State’s Military Day in Washington.

EDGE has developed a budget of $525,000 to support efforts through May 15, 2005, to keep AFRL, NEADS and DFAS off the recommended closure list. Several organizations and municipalities have stepped up to help fund the fight, including Oneida County, Niagara Mohawk, City of Rome, Town of Floyd, Town of Deerfield, Rome Area Chamber of Commerce, Griffiss Utility Services Corporation, Mohawk Valley Community College Professional Association and Utica College.

In 1995, the Secretary of Defense proposed closing Rome Laboratory, as the Air Force Research Lab Rome Research Site was then known. A community effort convinced the BRAC Commission of the value of the lab, and the Commission reversed the Secretary’s recommendation and the lab remained open.

County Executive Griffo, then as Mayor of Rome, and Mr. DiMeo, as head of the Griffiss Local Development Corporation, were both involved in that successful effort, as they are now. Many of the same consultants who helped the community win in 1995 are working again for the win in 2005.