Group to hire base consultant

DOTHAN, Ala. -- Dothan will join other cities in southeast Alabama to pay for a consultant to protect Fort Rucker in a future base closure round. The city commission will spend $130,992 a year for three years. A spokesman for "Friends of Fort Rucker" said the idea is to take the offense on the next base closing round in order to capture additional missions. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission, the last one was in 2005, determines how to realign military resources. In the last round Fort Rucker was set to gain 2,000 jobs, but lost it at the last minute to Huntsville, Ala., and Redstone Arsenal. (Source: Dothan Eagle, 08/21/12) Fort Rucker is the primary training base for Army aviation.