BRAC Listing

[5stringJeff]

The BRAC list came out today. Looks like it's mostly reserve/Guard centers, though I did notice that New London, CT (a major sub base) is on the list.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/05/13/base.closings.list.ap/index.html

 

[dmp]

wow...Fort Lawton?

Vancouver Barracks is easy to understand.


McPherson, too? yikes. Isn't that FORSCOM HQ?

Fort Monroe too?

 

[CSM]

Ft Monmouth is a biggy too. A lot of stuff comes out of there. Ft. Monroe is no big deal even if TRADOC does live there. The realignment at Ft. Knox is big too.

 

[5stringJeff]

Ft Monmouth is a biggy too. A lot of stuff comes out of there. Ft. Monroe is no big deal even if TRADOC does live there. The realignment at Ft. Knox is big too.

I wonder where HQ TRADOC is going if Monroe is closing.

Ft. McPherson is even bigger: HQ FORSCOM, HQ USARC, and HQ 3rd Army are there.

 

[CSM]

Knox is losing a bunch too. Of course, this is not the finalized list; it takes a few years even after it is finalized. Of local impact here is the Portsmouth Shipyard...5000 jobs gone with that one and no replacements for them.

 

[KarlMarx]

I guess it's easy for me to say this, since my job isn't being eliminated, but when was the last time you saw a government agency actually reduce its spending? I haven't been following this closely but I did hear one estimate of the cost savings to be about $50B. That's incredible.

Ironically, some critics that claim the DoD spends too much are among those protesting the base closures.

I wonder, can we expect to see other areas of the government do the same? The Department of Energy, the Department of Education, Deparment of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and others could use a good budget trimming I'm sure! No, I don't think so, either, at least I'm not going to hold my breath....

 

[SmarterThanYou]

I see no reason these things shouldn't be done. consolidation is a good thing, right?

 

[Adam's Apple]

Whatever group made up the list didn't seem to be playing politics. Maybe that same group should make recommendations for downsizing the Departments of Energy, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, etc., as KarlMarx suggests. Heaven knows, this country could stand to save another $150-200B.

 

[waltky]

Mebbe dey could house homeless veterans or refugees on closed bases?...

Defense Study Re-Ignites Debate over Base Closings
Apr 24, 2016 | Armed with a new study on excess space, the Defense Department says it will mothball parts of military installations or attempt wholesale shutdowns unless Congress approves another base-closing round. A key congressional committee says not so fast.

The House Armed Services readiness panel, chaired by Northern Neck Republican Rob Wittman, has approved language that rejects the administration's request for another Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission in 2019. It is part of the proposed 2017 defense authorization bill. The committee left open the door for more study, just not the one the department is currently peddling. "We're not against looking at another BRAC," said Wittman, R-Westmoreland. "But let's make sure we're doing it on parameters set by Congress."

The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program shut down Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC​

[/center]]

Wittman's panel has endorsed language that calls for another study of excess inventory. It doesn't spell out specifics, but Wittman said he would like to see a comparison of space based on fiscal year 2012 troop levels. The Defense Department's study released last month shows 22 percent excess capacity based on fiscal year 2019 force levels. The congressman said 2019 is not the best yardstick, because Congress might put the brakes on troop draw-downs between now and then. "The reality we're dealing with is close to fiscal year 2012," he said.

Congress has repeatedly rebuffed the Obama administration's BRAC requests. The last one came in 2005. It closed Fort Monroe in Hampton and threatened Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. It reshuffled major commands and changed how forces were aligned. It resulted in two joint-base operations locally: Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis on the Peninsula, and Fort Story and Little Creek in South Hampton Roads.

Defense Study Re-Ignites Debate over Base Closings | Military.com​

​

 

[xband]

wow...Fort Lawton?

Vancouver Barracks is easy to understand.


McPherson, too? yikes. Isn't that FORSCOM HQ?

Fort Monroe too?

In the nineties Ft. McPherson (Fort Mac) was headquarters of Third Army. I had a civilian contract there and my GF worked in the Barber Shop inside Third Army Headquarters. Fort Gilliam not too far away has a lot of land compared to Fort Mac.

 

[waltky]

Pentagon plan to shut bases stopped in the Senate...

Senate Panel Rejects Pentagon's Call to Shut Military Bases
May 11, 2016 | WASHINGTON -- A GOP-led Senate panel is all but shutting the door on the possibility of a new round of military base closings.

The Armed Services readiness subcommittee approved legislation Tuesday denying the Defense Department's request to close excess bases and use the accrued cost savings to strengthen the military.

The subcommittee's chairwoman, Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, says there is no room in the defense budget for the up-front costs required to begin closing bases.

The Pentagon says the Army and Air Force will have vastly more space for training and basing troops than they need, and trimming the surplus would save money that could be applied to strengthening the military. A House panel also rejected base closings in its version of the defense bill.

Senate Panel Rejects Pentagon's Call to Shut Military Bases | Military.com

 

[xband]

I was stationed on Mare Island Combat Technical Schools Command in the early seventies where Mare Island Sub base and shipyard were also located and later the entire island was shut down. The land sold to private developers who built expensive housing there. Sea Bass were commonly caught in the Mare Island channel.