BOSTON -- Otis Air National Guard base on Cape Cod is on a list of United States military bases that the Department of Defense is recommending be closed, but both Westover Air Force Base and Hanscom Air Force Bases would gain personnel under the proposed plan.

More than 150 military bases and installations across the U.S. are recommended for closing.

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According to a list of base recommendations, the Pentagon is proposing that Malony U.S. Army Reserve Center, Otis Air Guard Base and Westover U.S. Army Reserve Center in Chicopee, Mass., be closed.

Barnes Municipal Airport Air Guard Station, Hanscom Air Base and Westover AFB, would actually gain personnel under the proposal.

Natick's Soldiers Systems Center and the Naval Shipyard Puget Sound- Boston Detachment would be "realigned."

U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan, called the expansion of Hanscom a "victory" for the Bay State and said under the proposed plan Massachusetts would gain 500 new civilian and military employees.

"The big success story of the day is Hanscom Air Force Base. Hanscom will take on more than 1,100 new employees. Hanscom's $3 billion economic impact in our region only stands to increase with the addition of new missions," Meehan said in a prepared statement.

Under the plan, air and space research and development activities would be consolidated at Hanscom, Meehan said. Hanscom would take on the Information Systems Directorate from Air Force Research Lab at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio, and also units from Maxwell AFB in Alabama and Lackland AFM in San Antonio, Texas.

Otis is part the 22,000-acre Massachusetts Military Reservation and is home to the 102nd Fighter Wing and the 253rd Combat Communications Group. According to the government, 443 civilian jobs and 62 military jobs would be lost if Otis is closed. At Malony, 100 military jobs and 55 civilian jobs would be lost. Nineteen civilian jobs are at stake at Natick Labs.

Massachusetts U.S. Rep. William Delahunt, whose district includes Cape Cod, said he will fight to keep Otis open.

"We know we have a case to keep that fighter wing there," Delahunt said, saying the base is a key to the Massachusetts Military Reservation and, "we do not want to risk the entire military reservation." He cited the results of a recent study that he said actually recommended expansion of the military reservation, making it a regional Homeland Security Center.

Other state politicians tried to cast the recommendations in a positive light, basically saying it could have been worse for the state.

"Hanscom is going to grow. Massachusetts is going to see literally hundreds of new direct military jobs and potentially thousands more jobs in the private sector," Gov. Mitt Romney said a Statehouse news conference.

Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry said Massachusetts was "spared the worst pain," of the recommended closures, but he did criticize the inclusion of Otis on the list of bases to be closed.

"First and foremost, it's a mistake to close Otis Air Force Base. Otis is the number one base for homeland defense on the entire East Coast. The F-15s at Otis were the first to arrive over New York City on September 11; it's on the direct path of commercial flights from Europe; and it's ideally located to protect New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., with aircraft able to travel at supersonic speeds at a moment's notice. It simply makes no sense to close Otis in the post 9/11 world," a Kerry statement said.

On the Cape, residents have questions about what will happen to the thousands of acres of property owned by the military there if Otis closes. Overall, several were stunned by the recommendation. They said closing Otis would have a major impact on Bourne, Mass., and surrounding communities.

"I think [the base] is good for the area ... brings people in. You get all the [reservists] when they come in every two weeks. It just brings a little bit more economy into the town I would say," said one Bourne resident.

"I can remember hearing about [the base] during World War II. Besides tradition and everything else, I'd just hate to see it go," said another resident.

Before closures or downsizings can take effect, the Defense Department's proposal must be approved or changed by a federal base closing commission by Sept. 8, and then agreed to by Congress and President George W. Bush, in a process that will run into the fall.

In New Hampshire, Doble U.S. Army Reserve Center in Portsmouth, would close, but the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Pease Air Force Base would gain under the plan.

In Maine, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard would close, as would the Defense Financing and Accounting Service and the Naval Reserve Center in Bangor, Maine. More than 4,000 civilian jobs would be lost with the Portsmouth closure.

Members of Maine and New Hampshire's Congressional delegation released a statement regarding the proposal saying, "We are outraged that the Department of Defense has targeted the best shipyard in the nation for closure, but we know that this decision is not final. The Pentagon clearly overlooked vital aspects of the shipyard's military value and we will work with the Commissioners to ensure that they truly understand that the shipyard and its workforce are irreplaceable national security assets. This effort did not begin today and it will not end today -- we will continue to underscore the critical role Portsmouth Naval Shipyard plays in keeping submarines at sea and keeping the Navy prepared for an uncertain future."

The Bangor International Airport Air Guard Station would gain under the plan, and the Brunswick Naval Air Station would be "realigned."

In Rhode Island, Harwood U.S. Army Reserve Center, Providence, and the USARC in Bristol, R.I. would close. The Newport Naval Station and the Quonset State Airport Air Guard Station would gain under the plan.

In Connecticut, Sgt. Libby U.S. Army Reserve Center, in New Haven would close, as would the Submarine Base in New London, Conn., and the Turner U.S. Army Reserve Center in Fairfield, Conn., and the U.S. Army Reserve Center Area Maintenance Support Facility in Middletown, Conn. The Bradley International Airport Air Guard Station would be realigned.

In Vermont, the Burlington International Airport Air Guard Station would remain open and gain under the plan.

Discuss:Talk About Proposed Base Closings