Memos & Correspondence on Loring

Files in this series were created from 1980 through 1994. Materials include, memos, notes, correspondence, reports, pressing clippings, and journal articles. Many of the files cover defense bases and industries in Maine. Extensive coverage is given to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and the Brunswick Naval Air Station. Files regarding these bases include information on the military's consideration of closing both installations, particularly the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission's investigation of the possibility of closing the shipyard; how procurement of certain defense systems affected the future of these bases; and relations between the bases and the surrounding communities. There are some records concerning the border dispute between Maine and New Hampshire over the shipyard. Some files on the Loring Air Force Base are mixed into this series. Files on defense contractors concentrate on Bath Iron Works; Saco Defense Company; Fiber Materials, Incorporated; and Pratt & Whitney. These files primarily cover the companies' efforts to obtain defense contracts. Many of the files are about defense conversion, looking at how reduction of military forces after the Cold War affected the national and Maine economy. Several files are concerned with defense authorization bills. Additional files deal with the Maine National Guard and labor relations concerning defense bases and contractors.

Many of the files were maintained and created by Robert Carolla. Some files concerning Loring were created by Mary LeBlanc and Scott Harris. Additional files were maintained by Heidi Bonner, but most of those files were created by Brett O'Brien. Others were maintained and created by Patrick Maxcy and Sandy Brown. Michael Hastings created and maintained early Maine defense files, many of which were from Senator Muskie's office. Some files were also created by Sarah Sewall, Kim Wallace, and Peggy Dorothy. Some files maintained by Michael Hastings concerning Bath Iron Works were originally created by Jim Case, a legislative aide for Senator Edmund Muskie. Records dealing with the effectiveness of weapons systems and strategies for modernizing the military are closely related to files in the Foreign Affairs and Strategic Defense series. There are some files on the Dickey-Lincoln hydroelectric project mixed into this series.