DoD BRAC Recommendations Expected to Save Nearly $50
Billion
Secretary of Defense
Donald H. Rumsfeld has announced that the department's
recommendations to close or realign military facilities in the
United States will better position U.S. forces to confront this
century's threats. The recommendation, if fully implemented, will
generate an estimated net savings of nearly $50 billion over the
next two decades. When combined with the anticipated savings from
overseas basing realignments around the world, the projected net
savings increases to $64.2 billion.
"Our current arrangements, designed for the Cold War, must give
way to the new demands of the war against extremism and other
evolving 21st Century challenges,"
Rumsfeld said.
The department's BRAC recommendations, if adopted, would
close 33 major bases and realign 29 more.
The BRAC recommendations were developed in a process that began
in 2001, with the initiation of a review of how U.S. forces were
arrayed overseas. Prospective changes to the department's global
posture were fed into the analysis and recommendations. As a
result, forces coming home will return to installations better
arrayed to train and deploy for possible contingencies around the
world.
The department's BRAC recommendations were developed by the
military services and seven joint cross-service groups in
consultation with the combatant commanders. Each recommendation was
created under the procedures established in the Base Closure and
Realignment Act of 1990, as amended. The BRAC analysis started with
the 20-Year Force Structure Plan and the department's inventory of
facilities, and then applied BRAC selection criteria that had been
published early in 2004.
These criteria give
paramount importance to an installation's military value. Other
considerations included costs of potential savings, and economic
and environmental impacts of potential changes. The BRAC analysis
used data that was certified accurate in a process monitored by the
Government Accountability Office and the department's inspection
and audit agencies.
The department's BRAC recommendations are intended to:
- Enhance the military's ability to meet contingency surge or
mobilization
requirements;
- Retain those installations that have unique capabilities that
would be
difficult to reconstitute at other locations;
- Consolidate similar or duplicative training and support
functions to improve
joint war fighting;
- Transform important support functions - including logistics,
medicine and
research and development - by capitalizing on advances in
technology and business practice.
The department's recommendations will now be reviewed by the
BRAC Commission, which will seek comments from the potentially
affected communities. As it has in the past four BRAC rounds, the
department will assist affected communities in a variety of ways.
Department of Defense programs include personnel transition and job
training assistance, local reuse planning grants, and streamlined
property disposal. The department will join with other federal
agencies to offer additional assistance to affected
communities.
Once the commission has completed its review, it will present
its recommendations to the President. The President must approve
and submit the commission's recommendations to the Congress for
review and appropriate action. The entire process is expected to be
completed by the end of 2005.