After news came out on Thursday that the Marine Corps might be considering the closure of Parris Island MCRD and opening a new boot camp training site has drawn a quick response from leaders across the Palmetto State, according to various reports, including from Military.com, the publication that broke the story on Thursday. On Friday, S.C. politicians vow to protect Parris Island from closure.
“It ain’t gonna happen!” Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted on Friday.
Marine Corps leadership has said that no decisions about changing any training sites have been made. The Post and Courier reported that leaders across the state said they were blindsided by the news that it was even a possibility.
They were locally, too.
“News reporters called early this morning and caught me off guard,” Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling said in a late Friday night statement via email.
“I later learned, after the story about possibly closing Parris Island was reported, I was not the only one caught off guard,” he said. “The Mayor of Port Royal who has Parris Island within the town’s jurisdiction, some senior officers at Parris Island, members of our ever-ready Military Enhancement Committee,” we’re caught off guard also.
“To the best of my knowledge, no one in Beaufort was consulted or warned. Nor to the best of my knowledge, from quick conversations with congressional staff, did our congressional delegation have an inside to the ‘rumor’ or ‘overstatement.’
According to a Military.com report, Senator Lindsey Graham has spoken out against it, and in a statement to Military.com, Senator Tim Scott said, “The heart of the United States Marine Corps beats on Parris Island, and Beaufort County has proudly welcomed recruits from all over the country for generations. I am confident that as they review plans for consolidated training, the Marine Corps will determine that Parris Island makes the most sense both financially and logistically to train Marines for decades to come. Parris Island will not close.”
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced on Friday that the South Carolina Military Base Task Force has been activated. The governor tweeted “On Thursday morning at the [USC] Alumni Center, federal, state and local officials will convene for a commanders briefing on Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.”
Rep. Joe Cunningham tweeted on Friday that he will “fight like hell” to keep Parris Island open, citing how important our bases are.
Our Lowcountry military bases are so important to our culture, economy, and national security. That’s why I fought to pass an amendment to protect them from BRAC and I’ll fight like hell to keep Parris Island. https://t.co/bvD4fr6dX2
— Rep. Joe Cunningham (@RepCunningham) September 25, 2020
Locally, State Rep. Shannon Erickson said she called Sen. Graham to express her support for Parris Island and received assurance from Graham. 
“THE CLOSING OF PARRIS ISLAND WILL NOT HAPPEN”, she said Graham told her.
Military.com reported that Capt. Joe Butterfield, a Marine spokesman at the Pentagon, said the service is “simply exploring all options” as it faces a congressional mandate to make its entry-level enlisted training coed. The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act directs the Marine Corps to implement gender-integrated training at Parris Island within five years and at San Diego within eight.
“I am on edge as are others because there is a lot to absorb and the loss of one of our military bases would have a huge impact our economy, the character of our history as a military community and the many good people who come through the area and of course those who choose to retire here,” Mayor Keyserling also said.
For locals in Beaufort, the story echos some Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) committee hearings that took place in the early 1990’s that potentially placed MCAS Beaufort on the chopping block.
The BRAC process was created to increase U.S. Department of Defense efficiency by planning the end of the Cold War realignment and closure of military installations. More than 350 installations were ultimately closed as a result of five BRAC rounds of hearings, in 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005.
MCAS Beaufort was considered in 1993, when it was permanently removed from any further consideration, and the region let out a collective sigh of relief.
Those were stressful times.
Let’s hope those times haven’t returned.
Check out this article from Military.com for the full story.
