Don't Fight It. It Might Just Work Out

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But "we're finally making lemonade," Sanders adds. The post's stockade has been leased to repossession companies, and the municipal development authority rents storage space in the old motor pool for boats and recreational vehicles. A massage therapist, a Greek Orthodox church and the offices of a food-processing center moved into barracks that have been renovated with indoor plumbing, high-speed Internet access and central heating and air conditioning. Earlier this year, the first major industry arrived: Graphic Packaging Corp., with a 326,000-sq.-ft. industrial complex and 400 new jobs that will make up for 350 civilian positions lost when the Army moved. And to attract tourists, Barracks No. 803 will be restored to its original look. That's where Elvis got his pompadour clipped. Fort Smith's recovery may take a hit in the coming round of base closings, though. This year's proposal would spin off the 188th Air National Guard, an F-16 fighter wing situated next door to Fort Chaffee, to bases in Georgia and California.

BICKERING IN THE O.C.

For a community to bounce back quickly after a base closing, one thing is important: "Speak with one voice," says Patrick O'Brien, director of the Pentagon's Office of Economic Adjustment, which helps cities and towns rebuild when the soldiers leave. Irvine and the rest of Orange County, Calif., did not and instead spent 10 years and $100 million on ballot initiatives, public campaigns and lawsuits fighting over what to do with El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

The economic jolt to the Southern California county was negligible when the Marines decided in 1993 to move out their jets and pilots. Orange County has been a mecca for high-tech and biomedical companies. With a red-hot real estate market, the 4,700 acres the Marines left behind should have been scooped up quickly for development. But a feud broke out between regional leaders, who wanted the land to build a new international airport, and the city of Irvine, which preferred pricey homes and a massive metropolitan park. Irvine eventually won, and three years ago, the Department of the Navy, of which the Marines are part, auctioned off the land for $650 million to a developer that will build what the county calls the Great Park.

Irvine is still about five years away from realizing its dream. The Navy has estimated that it will cost $300 million to clean up the jet fuel and toxic cleaning solvents that seeped into the ground at the base. Larry Agran, Irvine's former mayor, isn't fazed. "We are talking about a plan for a metropolitan park three times the size of Central Park," he says. "In terms of the big picture, [the long fight will be] seen as very worthwhile." But the battle might not be over. The nearby city of Los Angeles, desperate for an overflow facility to relieve its overburdened LAX airport, has not ruled out a lawsuit that would force construction of an airport on the land.