The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, along with 150 other military bases across the country, was pegged for closure last Friday after the Department of Defense released its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) list for 2005.

At a press conference following the release of the list, Neil Rolde, chairman of the Seacoast Shipyard Association, called the shipyard's inclusion on the list a "grave misjudgment, indeed, a colossal error."

The announcement came just one day after the Navy awarded the shipyard a Meritorious Unit Commendation in recognition for its work from 2001 to 2004. According to Rolde, only five such awards have been given out during the last 30 years.

The shipyard still has a chance to appeal the decision to the nine-member BRAC Commission, an independent group appointed by the president that will make the final decision, based on the Defense Department's recommendation, on which bases will close.

Shipyard advocates must now "convince (the BRAC members) it's not too late to prevent a terrible mistake for our entire country," Rolde said.

Portsmouth Mayor Evelyn Sirrell was visibly choked up during the conference. She asked that shipyard workers and their families come forward and talk to her and send letters to the BRAC commission so "maybe...they'll consider the harm they've done."

"I shed a lot of tears this morning, but we have got to fight, that's the only way we're going to win," she said.

According to data from the Seacoast Shipyard Association, 4,803 employees worked at the shipyard in 2004, generating $318,329,729 in payroll. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is geographically located in Kittery. Maine is home to 2,771 employees while New Hampshire is home to 1,878.

During the conference, former shipyard commander Capt. William McDonough held up the front page of a 1964 edition of the Portsmouth Herald, a reminder of the first time the shipyard escaped the chopping block. McDonough is the president of the SSA.

McDonough called the data Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld used to make the decision "flawed and distorted" and said the real data does not support the closure of the shipyard.

Over the next 12 weeks, the BRAC commission will review the Defense Department's recommendations. At least one commissioner will visit each of the 150 bases targeted for closure and conduct regional public hearings where supporters for each base can make their case.

The commission will send their findings to President Bush on September 8, who will then either accept or reject their decision. If rejected, the process starts again, and the commission will have to submit another set of recommendations; if approved, Congress has 45 days to reject the commission's findings before the closures become final.

Rolde expressed optimism about appealing to the commission. "It's a different group, they may have a totally different point of view than the Department of Defense," he said.

Last week New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed a bill that pledges $100,000 to the SSA to help pay for lobbying efforts to keep the shipyard open.

"As a pure business decision, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard should be kept open. That is something the Navy recognized just yesterday. And we will join together to make that case to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, to President Bush and to members of Congress," Lynch said in a statement.

If the shipyard doesn't make it off the list, the Defense Department will close the yard within the next two to six years. Advocates for the yard were tight-lipped when asked about potential redevelopment plans should the yard close.

"Until we see the reports, we're not discussing that," said Kittery Town Manager Jonathan Carter. "We're going to spend our time during the next 12 weeks working on responses (to the BRAC list)."