WAR OF WORDS TURNS MILITARY RELOCATION INTO A HOT POTATO

A changing economic climate changes attitudes. It wasn't long ago that towns fought prisons or chemical manufacturers from locating nearby. Now communities can often overlook the potential risks of such industries when they bring million-dollar payrolls with hundreds of jobs.

That seems to be Missouri's attitude when it comes to relocating a military chemical training school from Alabama to Fort Leonard Wood. A police training school would also be relocated as part of the proposal. Currently, Fort Leonard Wood specializes in engineer training for soldiers.

These moves seem to make good economic sense for Missouri. If an Army plan is carried out, Fort Leonard Wood would gain $150 million in salaries and contracts. Fort McClellan, the base in Alabama that currently houses the operation, would close.

The proposal has predictably drawn the ire of environmental groups. The Missouri Coalition for the Environment is seeking to overturn a state permit that would allow the move. A Springfield insurance salesman has taken the matter a step further. He is circulating an initiative petition that, if voters approved, would require the Army to pay $5 million a year -- up to $20 million -- into a trust fund to guard against potential contamination from the base.

When groups discuss safety concerns, they gloss over the chemical school's perfect safety record at Fort McClellan. Since 1987, the chemical school has trained 35,000 soldiers without a single incident or accident. The amount of chemicals used in the training would be small-scale. A base spokesman said an eye dropper of nerve agent would be placed on equipment or clothing for students to detect. There is no reason Alabama's spotless safety record won't continue here.

The coalition wants to overturn a state permit that allows the Army to spray a white, oil-based fog into the air as part of the training. This same smoke training passed environmental standards in Alabama and now in Missouri.

Residents in towns around Fort Leonard Wood in Pulaski County have been very supportive of the chemical school relocation. Tom Tinsley, city administrator of Waynesville, a neighboring town of 3,200, says 60 people testified in favor of the relocation and only three against during the permit hearing.

Safety, Tinsley said, is simply no longer a major concern for area residents. He points out that Fort Leonard Wood is the largest employer in the area. With the new jobs, it would become one of the largest employers in the state. If the Alabama operations are moved to Missouri, it would shift 1,800 permanent Army jobs and 400 civilian jobs.

A decision may come soon. The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission will hold final deliberations on 180 base closings and realignments when it gathers Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Let's hope the decision will be based on military value and savings to the taxpayer rather than scare tactics.