Base Realignment and Closure
(or BRAC) is a process of the United States
federal
government directed at the administration and operation of the
Armed Forces, used by the
United States Department of
Defense
(DoD) and Congress to close excess
military installations and
realign the total asset inventory in order to save money on
operations and maintenance, aimed at achieving maximum efficiency
in line with Congressional and DoD objectives. More than 350
installations have been closed in four BRAC rounds: 1989, 1991,
1993, and 1995. The most recent round of BRAC completed in the fall
of 2005 and with the commission's recommendations became law in
November 2005.
History
The BRAC process was developed in an attempt to achieve the
government's goal of closing and realigning military installations
despite the political challenges which often arise when facilities
face reduction or elimination. Because a military base can bring
millions of dollars in federal money to its surrounding area each
year, challenges raised by members of Congress from affected
districts make such initiatives very difficult. Congress created
the BRAC process in 1988 as a politically palatable method to
pursue such needed goals.
Process
The process began, May 13, 2005, when the Secretary of Defense
forwarded his recommendations for realignments and closures to the
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The BRAC is
independent nine-member panel appointed by the President. This
panel evaluated the list by taking testimony from interested
parties and paying visits to affected bases. The BRAC Commission
had the opportunity to add bases to the list and did so in a July
19, 2005 hearing. The Commission met their deadline of September
2005 to have the evaluated list to the President, who approved the
list with the condition that the list could only approve or
disapproved in its entirety. On November 7, 2005 the approved list
was then given to Congress which then had the opportunity to
disapprove the entire list within 45 days by enacting a resolution
of disapproval. This did not happen and the BRAC Commission’s
recommendations became final.
BRAC Rounds
Past Rounds
1988 Commission
1991 Commission
- Bergstrom AFB
(Active Component only),
- Carswell AFB
,
- Castle
AFB
,
- Chase Field NAS
,
- Eaker
AFB
,
- England AFB
,
- Fort Benjamin Harrison
,
- Fort Devens
,
- Fort Ord,
- Grissom AFB
,
- Treasure Island NS Hunters Pt
Annex
,
- Lowry
AFB
,
- Loring AFB,
- Moffett NAS
,
- Myrtle Beach AFB
,
- NAV ElecSysEngrCtr,
- Naval Station Long
Beach,
- Naval Station
Philadelphia,
- Naval Station Puget
Sound,
- Philadelphia Naval Complex
,
- Presidio of Monterey,
- Richards-Gebaur ARS
,
- Rickenbacker
AGB
,
- Sacramento Army
Depot,
- Marine Corps Air Station
Tustin
,
- Williams AFB
,
- Wurtsmith AFB
,
1993 Commission
The 1993 Commission report included
- Camp
Evans - Fort Monmouth
,
- Cecil Field NAS
,
- Fort Wingate

- Marine Corps Air Station El
Toro
,
- Homestead AFB
,
- K.I.
Sawyer
AFB
- March
AFB
,
- Mare Island Naval Shipyard
,
- Naval Air
Rework Facility , Alameda
- Naval Air Station Agana
,
- Naval Air Station Barbers
Point
,
- Naval Air Station Dallas
,
- Naval Air Station Glenview
,
- Naval Air Station Alameda
,
- Naval Aviation Depot
Alameda,
- Naval Aviation Depot
Norfolk,
- Naval Aviation Depot
Pensacola,
- Naval Hospital
Charleston,
- Naval Hospital Oakland
aka Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, Oakland,
CA
- Naval Hospital
Orlando,
- Naval Station Charleston
,
- Naval Station Mobile,
- Naval Station Staten
Island,
- Naval Station Treasure Island
,
- Naval
Supply Center Oakland, Oakland Naval Supply Center
- Naval Training Center
Orlando,
- Naval Training
Center San Diego,
- NESEC, St. Inigoes,
- Newark AFB,
- O'Hare IAP ARS
,
- Plattsburgh AFB
,
- San Diego NTC,
- Vint Hill Farms
1995 Commission
- Adak NAF
,
- Bergstrom AFB
,
- Camp Bonneville,
- Castle Air Force Base
,
- US Army Operations
Fitzsimons,
- Fort Chafee,
- Fort Greely
,
- Fort Indiantown Gap
,
- Fort McClellan
,
- Fort Pickett
,
- Fort Ritchie,
- Letterkenny Army
Depot,
- McClellan AFB
,
- Military Ocean
Terminal,
- Naval
Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Indianapolis,
- Naval Shipyard, Long
Beach,
- Naval
Supply Center, Oakland, Oakland Naval Supply Center
- NAWC,
Aircraft Div., Warminster
,
- NAWC, Crane Division
Detachment,
- NSWC, Dahlgren
Division Detachment,
- Oakland Army Base,
- Ontario IAP Air Guard Station
,
- Red River Army Depot,
- Reese
AFB
,
- Roslyn Air Guard
Station,
- Savanna Army Depot
Activity,
- Seneca AD
,
- Sierra Army
Depot,
- Ship Repair Facility,
Guam,
- South Weymouth NAS
,
- Stratford Army Engine Plant

Source:
Office of the Secretary of Defense, Base Realignment and
Closure
BRAC 2005
The Pentagon released its proposed list for BRAC 2005 (see
Base Realignment and Closure,
2005) on May 13, 2005 (a date given the moniker "BRAC Friday,"
a
pun on
Black
Friday). After an extensive series of public
hearings, analysis of DoD-supplied supporting
data, and solicitation of comments from the public, the list of
recommendations was revised by the 9-member Defense Base Closure
and Realignments Commission in two days of public markups and votes
on individual recommendations (the proceedings were broadcast by
C-SPAN and are available for review on the
network's website). The Commission submitted its revised list to
the President on September 8, 2005. The President approved the list
and signalled his approval to Congress on September 15. The House
of Representatives took up a joint resolution to disapprove the
recommendations on October 26, but the resolution failed to pass.
The recommendations were thereby enacted. The
Secretary of Defense must implement the
recommendations not later than September 15, 2011.
Major facilities slated for closure include:
- Fort McPherson, Georgia

- Fort Gillem
, Georgia
- Naval Submarine Base New
London
in Connecticut
(removed from list August 24, 2005)
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
in Kittery, Maine
(removed from list August 26, 2005)
- Naval Air Station Brunswick
in Maine
- Ellsworth Air Force Base
in South Dakota
(removed from list August 26, 2005)
- Cannon Air Force Base
in New
Mexico
(temporarily removed from closure August 26, 2005,
pending review of new mission assignment)
- Fort Monmouth
in New
Jersey
- Defense Finance and
Accounting Service in New York

- Fort Monroe
, Virginia
- Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint
Reserve Base
in Pennsylvania
- Naval Station Ingleside
, Texas
- Otis Air National Guard Base
, Massachusetts
(removed from list August 26, 2005)
- Navy Supply Corps School
Major facilities slated for realignment include these:
See also
References
External links