Base Realignment and Closure Commission

Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by planning end of the Cold War realignment and closure of military installations. More than 350 installations have been closed in five BRAC rounds: 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005.

Background
The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 after the 1947 reorganization for establishing the National Military Establishment was passed regarding reductions of US military bases, forts, posts, and stations. The subsequent 1950s buildup during for the Cold War (e.g., during the Korean War) resulted in extensive installations such as the widespread number of Permanent System radar stations and Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) control centers. By 1959, plans for extensive numbers of Cold War installations were cancelled (e.g., DoD's June 19, 1959, Continental Air Defense Program reduced the number of Super Combat Center underground nuclear bunker to 7) and in 1958, US Intercontinental Missiles (ICMs) began to replace Strategic Air Command bombers  From 1960-1964, the Eisenhower and Kennedy Administrations closed "574 U.S. military bases around the world", particularly after President John F. Kennedy was briefed after his inauguration that the Missile gap was not a concern. For example, the North American B-70 bomber program had been a 1960 presidential campaign issue as contractor facilities were in TBD states, but after both Richard Nixon and Kennedy claimed the


 * 1964 closures: "In December 1963, Secretary McNamara announced the closure of twenty-six DOD installations or activities in the CONUS".


 * 1965 closures: Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announced 95 base closures/realignments in November 1964:  80 in the United States (33 states & DC) and 15 overseas.  Closures included the Portsmouth Navy Yard, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, the Springfield Armory, 6 bomber bases, and 15 Air Defense Command radar stations--a realignment transferred Highlands Air Force Station to the adjacent Highlands Army Air Defense Site.


 * 1968 Project 693: Project 693 was established by Secretary Clark Clifford during the Vietnam War for reducing programs and personnel, and the project also closed several military installations.


 * 1974 Project Concise: Project Concise eliminated most of the Project Nike missile locations which generally each had 2 sites, a radar station on an elevated landform for guidance and command/control, and a launch area that had launch rails and stored missiles and warheads. A 1976 follow-on program to Concise closed additional installations.


 * Grace Commission: The Grace Commission was President Ronald Reagan's "Private Sector Survey" on cost control that "concluded in 1983 that savings could be made in the military base structure" and "recommended establishing an independent commission to study the issue."  "Public Law 100–526 endorsed the review" in October 1988 and authorized the "special commission to recommend base realignments and closures to the Secretary of Defense" and provided relief from NEPA provisions that had hindered the base closure process.

1988 Carlucci Commission
The Carlucci Commission was chartered by the Secretary of Defense on 3 May 1988 and in December 1988 recommended closure of 5 AFBs (Chanute, George, Mather, Norton, and Pease).

Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990
The Defense Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 provided "the basic framework for the transfer and disposal of military installations closed during the base realignment and closure (BRAC) process". The process was created in 1988 to reduce pork barrel politics]] with members of Congress that arise when facilities face activity reductions.

The most recent 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 an 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 provide the evaluated list to the President, who approved the list with the condition that the list could only be approved 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.

Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commissions

 * 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission
 * Alabama Army Ammunition Plant
 * Chanute Air Force Base
 * Fort Douglas
 * Fort Sheridan
 * Fort Wingate
 * George Air Force Base
 * Hamilton Air Force Base
 * Jefferson Proving Ground
 * Lexington Army Depot
 * Mather Air Force Base
 * Naval Station Galveston
 * Naval Station Lake Charles
 * Naval Station New York
 * Norton Air Force Base
 * Pease Air Force Base
 * Presidio of San Francisco
 * Leased space in Alexandria, Virginia


 * 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission
 * Bergstrom Air Force Base (Active Component only)
 * Carswell Air Force Base
 * Castle Air Force Base
 * Eaker Air Force Base
 * England Air Force Base
 * Fort Benjamin Harrison
 * Fort Devens
 * Fort Ord
 * Grissom Air Force Base
 * Hunters Point Naval Shipyard of San Francisco
 * Loring Air Force Base
 * Lowry Air Force Base
 * Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
 * Myrtle Beach Air Force Base
 * Naval Air Station Chase Field
 * Naval Air Station Moffett Field
 * Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster
 * Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center
 * Naval Station Long Beach
 * Naval Station Philadelphia
 * Naval Station Puget Sound
 * Philadelphia Naval Yard
 * Presidio of Monterey
 * Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base
 * Rickenbacker Air Force Base
 * Sacramento Army Depot
 * Treasure Island Naval Station-Hunters Point Annex
 * Williams Air Force Base
 * Wurtsmith Air Force Base


 * 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission
 * Camp Evans
 * Fort Wingate
 * Griffiss Air Force Base
 * Homestead Air Force Base
 * K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base
 * March Air Force Base
 * Mare Island Naval Shipyard
 * Marine Corps Air Station El Toro
 * Naval Air Station Agana
 * Naval Air Station Alameda
 * Naval Air Station Barbers Point
 * Naval Air Station Cecil Field
 * Naval Air Station Dallas
 * Naval Air Station Glenview
 * Naval Aviation Depot Alameda
 * Naval Aviation Depot Norfolk
 * Naval Aviation Depot Pensacola
 * Naval Electronic Systems Engineering Center, Saint Inigoes
 * Naval Hospital Charleston
 * Naval Hospital Oakland
 * Naval Hospital Orlando
 * Naval Station Charleston
 * Naval Station Mobile
 * Naval Station Staten Island
 * Naval Station Treasure Island
 * Naval Supply Center, Oakland
 * Naval Training Center Orlando
 * Naval Training Center San Diego
 * Newark Air Force Base
 * O'Hare Air Reserve Station
 * Plattsburgh Air Force Base
 * Vint Hill Farms Station


 * 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission
 * Bergstrom Air Force Base
 * Camp Bonneville
 * Castle Air Force Base
 * Fitzsimons Army Medical Center
 * Fort Chafee
 * Fort Greely
 * Fort Indiantown Gap
 * Fort McClellan
 * Fort Pickett
 * Fort Ritchie
 * Kelly Air Force Base
 * Letterkenny Army Depot
 * McClellan Air Force Base
 * Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne
 * Naval Air Facility Adak
 * Naval Air Station South Weymouth
 * Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Warminster
 * Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Indianapolis
 * Naval Shipyard, Long Beach
 * Naval Supply Center, Oakland
 * Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division
 * Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division
 * Oakland Army Base
 * Ontario Air National Guard Station
 * Red River Army Depot
 * Reese Air Force Base
 * Roslyn Air National Guard Station
 * Savanna Army Depot Activity
 * Seneca Army Depot
 * Ship Repair Facility, Guam
 * Sierra Army Depot
 * Stratford Army Engine Plant


 * 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission: The Pentagon released its proposed list for BRAC 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, Connecticut (removed from list August 24, 2005)
 * Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine (removed from list August 26, 2005)
 * Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine
 * Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota (removed from list August 26, 2005)
 * Fort Monmouth, New Jersey
 * Defense Finance and Accounting Service, New York (removed from list 2005)
 * Fort Monroe, Virginia
 * Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base, 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:
 * Army Human Resource Command (HRC), Missouri, moving to the Fort Knox Military Installation in Kentucky
 * Fort Belvoir, Virginia
 * Fort Meade, Maryland
 * Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
 * Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
 * Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia (extent contingent on reopening the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Florida)
 * Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico
 * Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota
 * Eielson Air Force Base and Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska
 * Rome Laboratory, New York
 * Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
 * Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina

Twelve Joint Bases were created by merging adjacent installations belonging to different services. An example is Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, combining Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base.


 * 2015 Base Realignment and Closure Commission: The 2005 Commission recommended that Congress authorize another BRAC round in 2015, and then every 8 years thereafter.  On May 10, 2012, the House Armed Services Committee rejected Pentagon calls for base closures outside of 2015 round by a 44 to 18 vote.  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had called for two rounds of base closures, while at the same time arguing that the alternative of the sequester would be a "meat-ax" approach to cuts which would "hollow out" military forces.