DoD Announces Base Closure Criteria

[SuperGrover]

DoD Announces Base Closure Criteria

The Department of Defense published its proposed criteria for making recommendations to close and/or realign military installations in 2005. The department will use the following eight guidelines to determine a base’s future:

Current and future mission capabilities and impact on operational readiness,
Availability and condition of land, facilities and associated airspace,
Ability to accommodate contingency, mobilization and future total force requirements,
Cost of operations and manpower implications,
Extent and timing of potential costs and savings,
Economic impact on nearby communities,
Ability of the communities’ infrastructure to support forces, missions and personnel, and
Environmental impact.

Legislation authorizing the 2005 round of base closures was approved in 2002 and includes an FRA-supported provision that requires the base closure commission to examine the impact on area reservists, retirees and survivors before tagging a base for closure. However, this important factor was not included in DoD’s preliminary list of criteria. FRA pointed out this omission in a letter to DoD, asking the department to honor its congressional mandate as well as its obligation to military beneficiaries.

After considering recommendations from FRA and other organizations and agencies, the list of criteria will be finalized by mid-February and must then be approved by Congress by 15 March 2004.

State and local governments and organizations are sponsoring campaigns to retain military installations in their jurisdiction, and are bracing for the release of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s base closure plan, which is scheduled to be presented to the Base Closure and Realignment Committee (BRAC) by 16 May 2005. The committee will then submit its specific recommendations to the White House by 8 September 2005.