Locating Air Force Base Sites History's Legacy
Abstract
In the year 2003, the Department of Defense began preparing for yet another Base Realignment and Closure Commission Review intended to eliminate unnecessary infrastructure. Since 1988, four Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) reviews have been instrumental in the closing 30 of 102 major Air Force installations. Focused on rising deficits and growing national debt, the presidential administrations of George H. W. Bush (1989-1993) and William J. Clinton (1993-2001) have publicized these actions as a means of eliminating expensive and unnecessary overhead. From the military perspective, the reviews have permitted the Air Force and its sister services to adjust and relocate their assigned forces and activities to deal with the ending of the Cold War and its turbulent aftermath. The relocation of USAF units and functions is by no means a recent phenomenon. It has taken place continuously since the birth of United States air power with attendant consequences for individual citizens and their communities. To many Americans the most visible and personally significant reminder of their nation s air power is an Air Force base located within or near their community. Whether an operational air base with an active flight line, a logistics depot, a research complex, or a facility with a combined function, these installations employ thousands of military and civilian personnel and pump millions of dollars into the local economy through payrolls and the purchases of goods and services. To some civilians the air base provides a secure economic livelihood; to others it represents a competitor for economic resources, a source of noise and chemical pollution, and a potential safety hazard. Such opposite perceptions may influence a military basing decision, but not decisively. To the professional airman's mind, the major value of an installation must be its contribution to the effective application of air power.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA476351
Entities
People
- Frederick J. Shaw