Military Base Closures: Analysis of DOD's Process and Recommendations for 1995
Abstract
Although the Department of Defense (DOD) has in recent years undergone substantial downsizing in funding, personnel, and force structure, commensurate infrastructure reductions have not been achieved. Despite some progress in reducing excess infrastructure, it is generally recognized that much excess capacity likely will remain after the 1995 BRAC round. This view is supported by the military components' and cross-service groups' analyses, will be which showed far greater excess capacity than eliminated by the Secretary's recommendations. Currently, DOD projects that its fiscal year 1996 budget represents, in real terms, a 39-percent reduction below its fiscal year 1985 peak of recent times. By way of comparison, its 1995 BRAC recommendations combined with previous major domestic base closures since 1988 would total a reduction of 21-percent. DOD's 1995 BRAC process was generally sound and well documented and should result in substantial savings. However, the recommendations and selection process were not without problems, and in some cases, there are questions about the reasonableness of specific recommendations. At the same time, we also noted that improvements were made to the process from prior rounds including more precise categorization of bases and activities; this resulted in more accurate comparisons between like facilities and functions and better analytical capabilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 17, 1995
- Accession Number
- AD1185167
Entities
People
- Henry L. Jr Hinton
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office