The Pentagon wants to close Willow Grove Naval Air Station, located in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The move would deactivate the 111th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has brought a suit against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over the Pentagon's authority to deactivate Guard units. From member station WHYY in Philadelphia, Brad Linder reports.
STEVE INSKEEP, host: Pennsylvania's governor has filed suit against Defense Secretary Donald      Rumsfeld.  The suit is over the Pentagon's authority to deactivate      National Guard units.  A federal judge in Philadelphia heard arguments in      the case yesterday, and we have a report this morning from Brad Linder of      station WHYY.</s>BRAD LINDER reporting: The Pentagon wants to close the Willow Grove Naval Air Station located in      the suburbs of Philadelphia.  The move would mean shifting airplanes,      personnel and funds to other military facilities.  It would also mean      deactivating the 111th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard and leaving      more than a thousand Guard members without jobs.  While Pennsylvania      Governor Ed Rendell has been leading the fight to keep the entire base      operational, he's taken to the courts over the issue of the National      Guard.  Governor Rendell says the federal government doesn't have the      authority to deactivate a Pennsylvania National Guard unit without his      permission.  He says that's because the National Guard is both a federal      and state institution.</s>Governor EDWARD RENDELL (Pennsylvania): Only when they are activated and      called to federal duty, as they have been on occasion and of course      are--have been in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.      Only in those instances do they become federal employees, federal      status.  The vast majority of the time, they have state status and are      state employees, and in fact, must respond to my orders.</s>LINDER: Rendell says each state has a constitutional right to a militia,      and the National Guard is crucial in dealing with natural disasters and      homeland security.  He says the 111th Fighter Wing represents a quarter      of Pennsylvania's Air National Guard.  Pennsylvania is the only state      that would have a National Guard unit deactivated under the Pentagon's      recommendations. And during yesterday's hearing, Judge John Padova had      some tough questions about that for Justice Department attorney Matthew      Lepore.</s>Judge JOHN PADOVA (Pennsylvania): As I understand it, the 11th will have      no equipment, is that correct?</s>Mr. MATTHEW LEPORE (Justice Department Attorney): Yes.</s>Judge JOHN PADOVA (Pennsylvania): No facility, correct?</s>Mr. MATTHEW LEPORE (Justice Department Attorney): Yes.</s>Judge JOHN PADOVA (Pennsylvania): No funding, correct?</s>Mr. MATTHEW LEPORE (Justice Department Attorney): Correct.</s>Judge JOHN PADOVA (Pennsylvania): No military personnel assigned to it.</s>Mr. MATTHEW LEPORE (Justice Department Attorney): Correct.</s>Judge JOHN PADOVA (Pennsylvania): In every respect, that will constitute the total      dissolution, the out-of-existence, of the 111th Fighter Wing.</s>LINDER: Lepore agreed, but he went on to argue that the base realignment      and closure process was designed by Congress to streamline the way the      military manages its resources.</s>Mr. MATTHEW LEPORE (Justice Department Attorney): ...to not have state actors involved and certainly to not      have them have an arbitrary, unilateral veto power over one base when not      any other actor in the process gets that power.</s>LINDER: Lepore says if the Department of Defense needed to get      permission from 50 governors, it would be nearly impossible to make any      changes in National Guard deployment.</s>LINDER: Tim Ford, director of the Association of Defense Communities, says a      court ruling in Pennsylvania's favor could have a huge impact on the base      realignment process.</s>Mr. TIM FORD (Director, Association of Defense Communities): If there is      a small door opened, you can be sure that every state that can take      advantage of that opening would jump into it and would try to change a      decision that was impacting their state.</s>LINDER: Although Pennsylvania is the only state that would lose a      National Guard unit in the current BRAC round, the Pentagon wants to      shift Air Guard personnel and equipment at 50 other sites across the      nation.  Illinois and Tennessee have already filed lawsuits similar to      Pennsylvania's and officials in Delaware say they're getting ready to do      the same.</s>LINDER: Judge Padova isn't expected to issue a ruling until after the Base      Closure and Realignment Commission finishes deliberations next week.</s>LINDER: For NPR News, I'm Brand Linder in Philadelphia.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.