R.I. Arsenal was to be shut down until last minute.

Ed Tibbetts has dug up information that shows that the BRAC had the Rock Island Arsenal slated for closure. It remained on the list of bases to be closed until as late at May.

Newly released documents show that as late as April, the Rock Island Arsenal was on a Defense Department list of military bases marked for possible closure.

It was salvaged a little more than a month later when the Pentagon recommended the base remain open but that four major commands be shipped off it.

The minutes show that, up until April, the Arsenal was on a rapidly changing list of bases that were candidates for closure.

As the months wore on, the minutes show, Army, Navy and Air Force bases were increasingly crossed off the list — but not the Arsenal. It stayed on as late as April 18, when a map included in the minutes showed it among the bases to be closed.

That changed by May 2, when a chart attached to the minutes showed the Arsenal as one of the bases to be realigned, not closed.

Quad-City officials say they weren't surprised. On the day the Pentagon recommended realigning the Arsenal, nearly a month ago, they said they felt they'd dodged a bullet.