The town fathers want to use the resources of APG to make Aberdeen a technology center for the region. The problem, as we see it, is two-fold.

One is money. Sure, there are some modest "cooperative" relationships between APG and a few groups in the county. But this is the U.S. Army we are talking about. They are trying to do more with less these days. Witness the outsourcing commotion going on. To our way of thinking, this is a transition to less of an Army presence. We think there will be fewer technology resources at APG, not more, in the long run. The war on terrorism may delay this, especially if the post gets the hoped for $50 million chemical and biological warfare upgrade. But the clock is still ticking.

Then there is the HEAT Center, a schizophrenic concept designed to wed education, technology startups, a business incubator, and who knows what else. The planned research facility to be built by Battelle Memorial Institute is the best thing to happen to this vision so far. One thing we would do is shift oversight from Harford Community College to an independent board of directors. Just because "higher education" is part of the acronym doesn't mean this is a core competency of HCC. It isn't.

What is needed, though, is real money with staying power. That is, venture capital and lots of it. And that takes social and cultural changes that we don't see happening here. What we do see is divisions of large organizations - Battelle, SAIC, California Microwave, etc. - moving here and sucking out the defense dollars as long as they are available. The war on terrorism makes these dollars available a few more years. But what happens after the war when APG and the Edgewood Arsenal grow smaller, to be replaced by local growth in housing? No APG, no technology initiative.

Another problem is that technology is just a small part of the total economy. Sure, it's in everything. But so are steel, rubber, plastics, glass, and so on. Renowned management guru Peter Drucker recently said that 90 percent of new business development in the 21st century would be in non-technology areas.

We would use the extended timeline given by the war on terrorism to reassess our priorities. Take a hint from the soon-to-be Ripken Stadium, Bulle Rock and the other area golf courses, and all those sailboats and powerboats on the Chesapeake Bay. This is "the land of pleasant living," remember? As Cal would say, play to your strength.

DM