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BRAC to the Future’: A
Sequel
Sig Christenson
San Antonio (TX) Express-News (March 26): 1H.
The 2005 base closure round was thought by many to be the Pentagon’s
final chance to shutter bases and save billions. But that might well be
wishful thinking.
BRAC is far from dead, experts say. In fact, chances are good that more
base closures lie ahead. They might even become a permanent feature of
the Pentagon’s landscape.
“There are lots of people who say there will never be another BRAC,”
said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Sue E. Turner of San Antonio. “That’s
mostly because they survived this time and hope there’s not another
BRAC, but from a practical standpoint there could be.”
Turner was one of nine members of last year’s Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Commission that closed 22 installations, including Brooks
City-Base. The commission overruled the Defense Department’s BRAC wish
list and ultimately saved six bases the military wanted closed.
That the Pentagon might try again wouldn’t be unexpected. But the BRAC
commission itself opened the door to future closure rounds as it wrapped
up its business last fall.
It suggested that future Pentagon leaders release the Quadrennial
Defense Review, a blueprint for future military operations issued every
four years, in time for future closure commissions to study it. Turner
and her fellow commissioners said this year’s document, which was
released after BRAC handed down its final closure list, could have
helped deliberations.
Yet more telling of where things might go is a single sentence buried in
Appendix R of the commission’s voluminous report: “In fact, initiating a
new BRAC round should be considered by the secretary of defense in
eight-year intervals following every alternate QDR” – a closure round
every eight years.
Most of those interviewed for this story were unaware the commission
made that suggestion, but Turner cautioned that it wasn’t meant to be a
call for regularly scheduled BRAC rounds. She termed eight years “the
next reasonable time” for a sixth closure – if it’s sought – a view
echoed by some in Washington.
Still, Mayor Phil Hardberger and others concede the recommendation is a
reminder that the base closure process has a life of its own. And the
military is so important to San Antonio “that we can’t afford not to
always keep the possibility of another BRAC in the back of our minds,”
he said.
BRAC has been seen by defense leaders as a way to save money by
eliminating excess infrastructure. The commission said its cuts in 2005
are expected to save $4.2 billion annually for the next 20 years.
Four prior rounds saw 97 major installations closed, about 21 percent of
the Defense Department’s infrastructure, including Kelly AFB. The
Government Accountability Office estimates those closures have saved
$6.6 billion a year.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had hoped with last year’s closure
round to save more money than the four others combined.
But its larger purpose, beyond saving billions that could be channeled
into new weapons systems, was to put a bow on Rumsfeld’s top priority –
forcing profound changes in military culture by creating more
interservice “joint” operations.
Neither happened.
The commission rejected the Pentagon’s call to shutter six
installations, among them Naval Shipyard Portsmouth in Maine and
Submarine Base New London, Conn., following spirited community protests.
In its final report, the commissioners also said that “very few”
Pentagon closure and realignment proposals actually increased jointness.
Brooks fell, as did Naval Station Ingleside on the South Texas coast,
but the Pentagon didn’t close Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, as had
been recommended.
Meanwhile, the commission delivered the best BRAC present ever to the
Alamo City – 13,575 new workers, students and families to Fort Sam
Houston, plus $2 billion in new construction for the post.
Today, a newly formed committee in San Antonio is pondering how to help
the military implement the many new missions coming to the city. There
has been no thought of another BRAC or consideration of laying the
groundwork for challenging a new closure round.
City Councilman Richard Perez, who chairs the city’s Military Affairs
Committee, said he wasn’t aware of the BRAC commission’s recommendation
but doesn’t think another closure round will come soon.
That’s a common view. Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, both
R-Texas, see no legislative appetite for another BRAC.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said he thinks it will take a decade for
the Defense Department to digest the 2005 round and assess its
effectiveness. Dealing with BRAC, he said, is disruptive to communities
and distracts them from other things, such as economic development.
But retired Air Force Col. William Ehrie, chairman of the Texas Military
Preparedness Commission, said base-closure rounds are indeed a form of
economic development. Towns with bases typically have military affairs
committees that track such issues, he said, adding, “You treat it as a
business deal.”
Meanwhile, six months after BRAC, the party has ended in Texarkana and a
sense of urgency is back in the air. Civic leaders are digging in for
another BRAC and expect a third consecutive assault on their depot, with
3,500 jobs the region’s largest and best employer.
The depot has been on the BRAC hit list twice since 1995, and leaders
know they can’t replace jobs that average $35,000 a year.
“If you’ve been on the list twice you’ve got to know that somebody
someplace doesn’t think you’re as good as some of the other players in
the field,” said Jerry Sparks, chairman of the Texarkana Chamber of
Commerce’s BRAC committee. “We have serious competitors. They’re not
walking away.”
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