A side view of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, which is being serviced at Boeing's Port San Antonio operations site.
Source: Flickr/ PortSanAntonio.
When a group of dedicated individuals created a turnaround plan for Kelly Air Force Base in the years following its closure, they had two priorities: to minimize the impact on Kelly employees and establish the best use of facilities. In the series, “Kelly Field: A Family Changed,” Texas Public Radio’s Eileen takes a look at the future for the unique logistics and industrial complex that employs almost 15,000 workers and brings an estimated $4 billion dollars to the local economy each year.
July 22, 2011 · “A significant number of our faithful employees at Kelly — that because of that employment — have subsequently been able to afford college educations for their sons and grandchildren that may not have been possible had it not been for Kelly,” says Brig. Gen. Robert Murdock.
Murdock was commander of the ALC at the time of Kelly’s closure in 2001. He says the people-challenge had to be carefully thought out.
“Obviously, when a military installation closes, those men in uniform have to salute smartly and move to wherever the military says you’re going to go. The civilians, not quite the same case,” says Murdock.
Civil service workers did not want to move to other Air Force bases in Oklahoma, Georgia or Utah. So the development team lured other aerospace companies to San Antonio, and all but about 800 of the workers basically have the same jobs now that they did at Kelly.
 A Triple S Steel worker prepares to unload a steel beam. Source: Flickr/ PortSanAntonio.
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“One of the things that Lockheed proposed with their contract coming in is that the people that were actually doing the maintenance would have the first right of refusal — the artisans that are actually turning the wrench.”
Debra Lee Tharp, who worked at Kelly for 11 years and now works at Lockheed Martin, says the process went smoothly because the new contractors all worked together.
“And they had a centralized hiring that said, ‘Okay, if this person has T-56 or TF-39 experience, if they had T-56, maybe they’d be better going to Standard Aero.’ Because that’s the background, that’s the workload Standard took. If they had back shop operations or machine shop, then Chromalloy. And they really did fit people where their experience was, and I think it was a much easier transition.”
There also had to be a plan for younger generations. During its first century in San Antonio, the Air Force created apprentice programs that turned out thousands of skilled aircraft mechanics. Today’s civilian workforce is trained in the new, high-tech skills needed for modern aircraft work.
“Rachelle graduated in May 2007, from Highlands High School and from the Alamo Area Aerospace Academy. She is attending San Antonio College where she is pursuing a degree in engineering. After graduating in May of 2011, Rachelel plans to attend UTSA for a degree in mechanical engineering,” says Joe Wilson of Lockheed Martin.
The Alamo Community College District’s three aerospace academies at the port provide that specialized training to high school students. The students get college credit, and they can work while they train. Port San Antonio gets a constant supply of highly-skilled talent for new, global companies that people like Tullos Wells are working to attract.
“We have created a pipeline of skilled mechanics to work on big engines and big airframes. These are really skilled people who understand the enormity of the task of maintaining air frames and engines that go into Boeing 737s, 747s, 787s. That’s where I think we have an edge in the market. We have a great workforce at a reasonable price. Energy costs here are so much less than other places thanks to CPS. So we have a lot of competitive advantages. It’s now time to market that to the world,” says Wells.
“We expect that within the next year, you’re going to see a much more focused effort on aerospace in San Antonio and Texas” says Jim Perschbach, Chairman of the Greater Chamber’s Aerospace Committee. Perschbach says with its rich history and vast facilities, the port is unique.
Port San Antonio President and CEO Bruce Miller says the port is poised to attract global business.
“Kelly Air Force Base was an intrinsic part of the community for years in generating jobs and providing stability, allowing the convergence of a strong middle class in San Antonio — a lot attributed to all the government work that went on here for generations," says Miller.
"We’re trying to continue that tradition in a manner, though, that recognizes we’ve got, in San Antonio, access here for international air and rail. And it’s something that in combination at one site didn’t exist before the closing of Kelly Air Force Base. At the time the base closed, big crisis, potential loss of jobs, but some very smart people in those early days figured out a way to get large aerospace companies here and continue the federal contract work for a period of time.”
The Port had to bring buildings up to code and remodel them so that tenants can move in.
“We have 11.9 million square feet of space, and 95% of it is occupied,” says Stephanie Ramsey, Port San Antonio’s vice president of marketing and sales.
Already, the Port’s tenants have brought an economic impact of $4 billion annually to the city. Perschbach says the Port has positioned San Antonio to capitalize on new aerospace developments that are just around the corner.
An interior view of the Gore Design Completions hangar. Source: Flickr/ PortSanAntonio.
Click to enlarge.
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“We’re talking about 33 - 34,000 new airplanes expected to be built over the coming 19 to 20 years — and the required maintenance on both the existing fleets and the fleets that are coming online. There’s just going to be an explosion in the opportunities that are available,” says Perschbach.
“My hat is off to the folks who had the vision to develop it into what it is today,” says Gen. Murdock. His assessment echoes those of others who have worked on the Kelly redevelopment project. “Their foresight has proved to have been absolutely successful.”
Kelly families are strong. The coming generations look forward to working with their families as their parents did.
“[Rachelle] is the third member of the family to graduate from the Aerospace Academy and the apprenticeship program,” says Wilson.
“I think you still have a lot of the same people that were there. Granted, you don’t have 13,000 people in one entity,” says Tharp.
She believes the port would not be as successful without the ties that made Kelly a family.
“You have different entities with Boeing and Gore and those places, but a lot of the ties are still there. And I think you have a lot of the feeling of Kelly and the pride in supporting the military and being a part of the mission; I believe in all those entities you still see that.”
 Don Lee, a member of the Senior Executive Service and director of Materiel Management.
Source: Deborah Lee Tharp.
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Meeting the goals for Kelly redevelopment was a huge process; it took the vision of many people, their cooperation and tenacity.
It would not be possible to end Kelly’s story without acknowledging the contributions of so many who helped their employees and co-workers.
Gen. Murdock talks about Don Lee, an ALC director, for whom the longest corridor in Building 171 is named.
“He was probably one of the most professional civil servants I’ve ever known. And he was adored by the people out there. He was tough, and some people didn’t agree with decisions he made. But, he treated everyone fairly, equitably, and an awful lot of folks had an enormous respect for him.
“And the day that we closed Kelly, one of the last activities that took place in the closure ceremonies was bringing down the American flag. I eventually kept that flag, and when I heard of Don’s passing — of course, I had visited him numerous times when he was ill, and I saw him about a week before he died — when Rose called and told me that he had passed away, I knew, because he was such a patriot and he was a Navy veteran, and because of all that he had done for Kelly, I took that flag that flew the last day of Kelly and had the folks put it in his casket.
"I couldn’t think of anyone more special that should have had that flag and earned the right to be with that flag forever.”
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