In fact, the depot's boosters said they've never been more convinced the base will survive the wrecking ball.
"We've got so much work now, we're hiring people," said Joan Gustafson, spokeswoman for the Anniston Army Depot. "Our workload has probably tripled from what we had a couple years ago."
The budget blueprint for the financial year beginning next Oct. 1 doesn't include a dime of military construction money for Anniston and only $31 million for Alabama -- barely a third of what the state got last year.
However, soon the community plans to break ground on a $24 million powertrain facility the depot landed a year ago. Lawmakers viewed the project as a great sign that the Pentagon might look elsewhere when deciding which bases -- and which depots -- to eliminate.
Nathan Hill, the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce;s military liaison, said supporters of the depot had asked Alabama's congressmen for military construction projects that would help the depot in the Base Re-alignment and Closure process.
One of the ways to do so, according to the Department of Defense's BRAC criteria, is to increase an installation's military value by improving its infrastructure.
Third District Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Saks, and Sens. Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, of Mobile and Tuscaloosa, responded to the request by pushing to have money for a state-of-the-art engine and transmission facility included in the military budget ahead of schedule, in fiscal 2005 instead of 2007.
The money for the $24 million facility and its $30 million equipment order was appropriated, and the contract for construction will be let by June 30.
It would have made little sense to begin the project according to the initial timeline, which would have fallen after BRAC, Hill said. Military planners would prefer to close the less capable facilities and move their projects elsewhere, and the depot's supporters and state congressmen didn't want that to happen here, Hill said.
"I think we took such a big bite of the apple last year, it was hard to come back this year with a pretty big bite," said Rogers, who represents Anniston. "You won't hear the word 'safe' come out of my mouth until October."
Although the Pentagon insists there is no correlation between budget requests and base closures, some in Anniston might argue otherwise. Years before the nearby Fort McClellan was closed in 1995, its construction money was zeroed out in budget after budget.
The depot is different, its supporters say, because of a new niche that includes up-armoring Humvees for the Iraq war. Since it began work on the process in November 2003, Anniston has completed about 3,700 kits -- more than a third of the nationwide total.
"As long as we're continuing to be efficient and productive, as we have been, we're ready," said Sherri Sumners, president of Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce.
The Stryker armored vehicle, also assembled in Anniston, would continue on schedule next year at $905 million. There was $1.6 million allocated a year ago, but that was because of an advance order. The weapon has been getting rave reviews and there is speculation its order could increase in the coming years.
Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute, said the Stryker and armored Humvee work have positioned the depot well heading into the closure round. A more likely candidate for closure is a similar depot in Red River, Texas, he said.
"I'm certain Anniston is not going to suffer a major hit in that process," Thompson said. "The more likely outcome is that it will gain jobs."
Still, Sen. Jeff Sessions said he would have liked to see more money devoted to military construction at Anniston and several other of the state's bases. The only Alabama military projects requested in Bush's 2006 budget are $7.5 million for a Marine Corps Reserve Center in Mobile, $14.9 million for a lodging facility at Maxwell Air Force Base, and $9.1 million for an Air National Guard training facility at Montgomery Regional Airport.
Sessions, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he had also asked for money to complete two hangars at Fort Rucker and new missile igloos and building upgrades at Anniston.
Although he said Bush was wise to limit spending, he contends the military construction cuts were too deep.
"Sometimes these buildings and construction are critical for quality of life," Sessions said. "Sometimes they're critical for the productivity of the base."
Staff Writer Matt Korade contributed to this Associated Press report.