Recent study shows U.S. military presence has $3 billion impact on local economy

The U.S. military last year remained an economic heavyweight in the Charleston area, providing jobs for more than 27,000 people and pumping $3.28 billion into the local economy, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

“The U.S. military clearly sees advantages in Charleston’s location, shared resources and models of efficiency for a modern military,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Albert J. Baciocco, volunteer chairman of the Chamber’s Military Relations Policy Council.

To that end, the Pentagon has continued to pump resources into local military units despite the 1993 decision to close the former Charleston Naval Base and shipyard, the report said.

Direct employment, including active-duty military, reserves, civilian employees and contract personnel, totaled 27,209. Their direct payroll totaled about $1.4 billion.

Other data in the report included:

— Local purchases of goods and services: $1.1 billion

— State tax revenues generated: $218.4 million

— Local tax revenues generated: $126.4 million

— Total jobs (direct and indirect): 40,860

— Total annual economic impact: $3.28 billion

The report, Baciocco said, lets “the community understand why the military is so important to the area and to our way of life.”

The Navy remained the largest employer in the region in 2003 with an estimated 16,586 civilian and military workers, including contract employees. The Charleston Naval Weapons Station hosts 40 different tenant commands on 17,000 acres and provides a joint transportation, logistics, engineering and training complex. Major tenant units include the 841st Transportation Battalion; the Army’s Combat Equipment Group — Afloat; the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and the Nuclear Power Training Unit; and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Charleston.

Charleston Air Force Base employs 4,149 active-duty personnel, 2,854 reservists and 1,425 civilians.

To calculate the economic impact, only active-duty and civilian employment and payroll numbers were included, Chamber Vice President Mary Graham said.

However, the area also is home to roughly 19,000 military retirees and widows, according to retired Army Col. Raymond Borelli, director of the Retirees Activities Office at the Air Force base. With military pensions averaging about $25,000, the annual military pension income in the area is roughly $450 million.

Although 2003’s figures are below pre-base closure statistics (48,000 jobs and $4.2 billion impact), Graham said the military’s impact has increased steadily since 1996. The annual economic impact of the area’s military ranks right behind tourism at $5.1 billion and equals that of the Port of Charleston at $3.3 billion, according to the data.

Economic impact also suggests the extent of area bases’ military value, which will be a key factor next year when the Pentagon launches another round of base closures.

“Anything that shows how well our units are working together has to be a positive thing,” retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Tom Mikolajcik said. Mikolajcik sits on the Governor’s Military Advisory Committee and the Chamber’s Military Relations Policy Council.

Both organizations are work-ing to keep area bases from closing.

“The most important thing is military value and the way the military works together,” he said, adding that the Charleston area “is a model of joint, or multi-mission, bases.”

Baciocco agreed, saying the area has become a “joint transportation, logistics and engineering center. Airlift, sealift, rail, interstate highway and (Army) pre-positioning facilities are all located within an eight-mile radius and have easy access to interstates and highways.”

“Military equipment and supplies from 30 states have processed through and deployed from Charleston to fight the global war on terror,” he said.