Taking Stock of the Army's Base Realignment and Closure Selection Process
Abstract
During the last decade, the Army, like the other military departments, has been accommodating the downsizing of the defense establishment, in part by reducing its installation structure during congressionally mandated rounds of base closures and realignments. Four rounds of closures and realignments have resulted in the closure of 97 major defense installations, including 23 belonging to the Army. Many more minor installations have been closed, and others have been realigned. Nevertheless, many believe that excess installation capacity remains. Hence, more base realignments and closures (BRACs) may occur, possibly as early as 2003. The Army's process for selecting installations has remained fairly constant during the last three rounds, in 1991,1993, and 1995. The process has much to commend it and, in fact, has received the most praise of the processes of any of the three military departments. Yet the process has shortcomings and can be improved for any future rounds. This report offers ten criteria it argues should characterize an effective BRAC process and analyzes the Army's 1995 process in light of those criteria. It then goes on to suggest an improved process.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA392976
Entities
People
- William M. Hix
Organizations
- RAND Corporation