US : Moody Air Force Base has been a main part of the lives of people in and out of uniform in South Georgia for more than seven decades, and the South Georgia Military relationships Council plans to remain it that way through the next Base Realignment and Closure process.
“The SGMAC does a lot of detail things, such as working with local governments to protect Moody AFB from encroachment, to interface with local school systems to enhance a friendly military-dependent environment and many other details,” Nick Lacey, retired colonel and Lowndes County 911 center manager, said The SGMAC, including the chambers of commerce in Lowndes, Berrien, Cook and Lanier counties, had its monthly meeting June 11 to plan efforts to fight the next BRAC, which could happen as soon as 2017. Each of the four counties could be severely affected if a BRAC is to occur. BRAC, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, “is the congressionally authorized process the Department of Defense is using to reorganize its base structure to more efficiently and effectively support our forces, increase operational readiness and facilitate new ways of doing business.”
Unfortunately, this can result in the closing of a military installation. SGMAC’s mission is to be on guard for Moody AFB, ensuring that our communities are doing everything possible to prevent that from occurring. Representatives of the four counties include Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber’s Michael Lee, Lakeland-Lanier Chamber’s Cindy Pullen, Adel-Cook Chamber’s Gloria Mitchell, and Nick Lacey of the Berrien County Chamber.
