Depot Closings and the Destruction of Western Civilization
Abstract
Senator McCain's comments in June 1997 reflected his frustration over the progress of the fiscal year 1998 Defense Authorization Bill. One can only imagine his frustration level-and his fears for Western civilization-in November 1997 when Congress finally sent the President the authorization bill long after the fiscal year had begun and even longer after the completed appropriations bill threatened to make most of it irrelevant. The source of the delay was not, as might be expected or desired, a fundamental disagreement in national security policy or military readiness. Rather, it was a purely political debate over the disposition of work being performed at two Air Force maintenance depots targeted for closing by the 1995 Base Realignment and Closing Commission. The origins of the congressional stalemate lie in the initially unrelated issues of base closings and privatization. As the need for maintenance depot reductions became apparent in 1995, the concept emerged of privatizing depot activities locally in the closing depot's community. This "privatization-in-place" concept became the focus of election year politics beginning a chain reaction that has destroyed any support for future base closings and nearly destroyed the defense authorization process.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA441831
Entities
People
- Jeff L. Brown
Organizations
- National War College