The language institute has been on the chopping block before, dating back to 1991, in part because of the high cost of running the center at the Presidio in Monterey, Calif., on the California coast south of San Francisco.

In 1994, at the Army's encouragement, Utah made a bid to lure the language school to the state, drawing on the language program at Brigham Young University.

The institute escaped the BRAC list in 1995 through financial incentives offered by the city of Monterey and the urging of President Clinton's chief of staff, Leon Panetta, who had represented the area in Congress.

Despite the history of scrutiny for the language institute, the Pentagon did not recommend any changes to the center in its BRAC recommendations in May.

But the issue was put back on the table earlier this month when the commission included it on a list of bases it was considering adding to the BRAC list. Under law, before adding installations, the commission is required to seek the Pentagon's rationale for its recommendation.

It would take votes from seven of the nine BRAC commissioners to add a base to the list. Communities then would have time to respond before another vote next month.

Panetta, who is now leading Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's council to protect California's bases, said he is confident the BRAC commissioners are not considering moving the language institute out of Monterey.

Utah Defense Alliance Executive Director Rick Mayfield said the state hasn't actively sought to move the language institute to Utah in this BRAC round because the institute's future remains uncertain. If it is slated for realignment, however, Mayfield said Utah considers itself an ideal suitor.

"We think it matches our language abilities. With the University of Utah, BYU and Utah State, the languages we teach are superb. The language pool, because of the LDS Church, gives us a lot of ability that a lot of other states can't match," he said. "From an economic development standpoint, it's a great opportunity. It would bring a lot of jobs."

Fort Huachuca has also actively sought in the past to relocate the language institute to Arizona.

In the commission's letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, BRAC Chairman Anthony Principi inquired whether the Pentagon had considered closing or realigning three defense education centers - the language institute; the Naval Postgraduate School, also in Monterey; and the Air Force Institute of Technology in Ohio.

Combining the education functions "would provide significant savings and efficiencies to the Department of Defense" by streamlining the support staff, instructional staff and infrastructure needed for the three, the letter stated.

In his response last week, acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England said the Pentagon considered a full range of options, including closing the schools, privatizing the functions, and consolidating or realigning the centers, but ultimately decided there was value in keeping the centers independent.

Leo Memmott, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s adviser on base closure issues, said the speculation about Defense Language Institute's future isn't at the level it was in the 1995 round when Utah submitted its proposal, which was taken very seriously at the time.

No proposal has been made this time, but if the Monterey facility is closed, "we would like to be in a position that we could be considered for that mission," he said.

Panetta said commissioners are not likely to vote to move the language center. He said it is more likely they would look to consolidate the institute with the Navy Postgraduate School, also in Monterey, and put both of them under the defense secretary's authority.

"If they do [vote on DLI] it will be because they want to take a harder look at whether they want to unify the command," Panetta said.

"That's something that has kind of been discussed out here for a number of years, but nobody ever took action to make it happen. . . . It's pretty clear that's primarily what they're looking at."

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Tribune reporter Matthew LaPlante contributed to this story.

The Defense Language Institute

Location: Monterey, Calif.

Mission: Teaches about 25 languages.

Students: 3,000 annually from every military branch.

Employs: About 1,300 civilian workers, including 800 faculty.