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DoD Base Realignment
And Closure - 2005
By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service DENVER, June 8, 2005 Redevelopment efforts have created more than 115,000 new jobs nationwide in communities affected by the last four base realignment and closure actions, a senior Defense Department official said here this week. Those employment gains account for "nearly 90 percent of the civilian jobs that were lost" as the result of BRAC rounds conducted in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995, said Patrick J. O'Brien, director of DoD's Office of Economic Adjustment. It takes hard work for communities to rebound from BRAC actions, O'Brien told attendees at the National Association of Installation Developers and Association of Defense Communities annual conference. O'Brien pointed out that OEA and other federal agencies, such as the Department of Labor, stand ready to assist redevelopment efforts of BRAC-affected communities. O'Brien urged state and local community representatives with military bases identified for closure or realignment under the recently released 2005 BRAC list to "get to know the DoD team" of military and civilian officials who work BRAC issues. But DoD can't do everything by itself, O'Brien pointed out, noting myriad other federal agencies and programs offer community planning and redevelopment assistance for BRAC-impacted communities. "Take advantage of those programs; learn what they are," O'Brien advised. He said the key to redevelopment success for communities affected by BRAC actions is early planning and consensus on what types of development will be undertaken on former military property. However, O'Brien also asked communities to pace themselves, because the BRAC process is long and arduous. It's not necessary that communities "reinvent the wheel" when considering redevelopment options, O'Brien said, noting many BRAC success stories are available to analyze. O'Brien recommended that state and local community leaders obtain a copy of the OEA-produced booklet titled, "Responding to Change: Communities and BRAC." This booklet, he said, contains scores of examples of BRAC success stories, including points of contact. The BRAC 2005 list of proposed base closings and realignments released by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in May requires review by the BRAC commission, the Congress and the president, with a final approved listing expected sometime this fall. Yet, whatever form the final list takes, O'Brien said, DoD stands by to assist affected communities. Through nearly two decades of BRAC actions the Office of Economic Adjustment has an effective history "of being capable and responsible in assisting communities respond to these challenges," O'Brien said. And as BRAC 2005 nears, DoD will carry on that legacy of assistance to affected communities, he added. "We want to understand what your needs are; we want to be responsive to those needs," he concluded.
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 13, 2005 The Defense Department has recommended closing 33 major bases and realigning 29 others as part of a comprehensive reshaping of the military infrastructure through the base realignment and closure process. Michael Wynne, defense undersecretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, announced Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's closure and realignment recommendations at a Pentagon news conference today. The recommendations now go to the BRAC Commission chaired by former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi. The commission will start hearings on the specific recommendations May 16. If adopted, the recommendations would give DoD a net savings of almost $50 billion over 20 years, officials said. Annual savings are pegged at $5.5 billion a year after that. Fourteen major Army bases are recommended for closure, including Forts Gillem and McPherson in Atlanta; Fort Monroe, Va.; Fort Monmouth, N.J.; and the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and Red River Army Depot in Texas. Nine major Navy bases will close, including Submarine Base, New London, Conn.; Willow Grove Naval Air Station, Pa.; Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine; Naval Station Pascagoula, Miss.; and Naval Air Station Atlanta. Ten major Air Force installations are closing, including Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.; Onizuka Air Force Station, Calif.; Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.; Otis Air National Guard Base, Mass.; and Brooks City Base, Texas. DoD defines major realignments as installations losing at least 400 people. The five major Army realignments are Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington; the Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.; Fort Knox, Ky.; and Fort Eustis, Va.; and the Army Reserve Personnel Center in St. Louis. Eleven Navy realignments include Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill.; Naval Station San Diego; and naval air stations in Brunswick, Maine, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Pensacola, Fla. The Marine Corps Logistics Base in Barstow, Calif., also will realign, as will the naval medical centers in Portsmouth, Va., and San Diego. Ten major Air Force realignments include Eielson and Elmendorf Air Force bases, both in Alaska; Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.; Lackland and Sheppard Air Force bases, Texas; and McChord Air Force Base, Wash. DoD agencies in leased spaces throughout the National Capital Area and Defense Finance and Accounting Service offices in Cleveland and in Arlington, Va., face major realignment actions as well. Forty-nine installations are gaining more than 400 personnel. The Army made provision for units reassigned from Europe and the Pacific. The major gainers in the Army are Fort Belvoir, Va.; Fort Jackson, S.C.; Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Benning, Ga.; and Fort Bragg, N.C. Navy gainers include Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.; Naval Station Norfolk, Va.; Naval Station Newport, R.I.; Marine Corps Logistics Base Quantico, Va.; and Naval Station Bremerton, Wash. Air Force gainers include Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.; Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.; Scott Air Force Base, Ill.; Andrews Air Force Base, Md.; and Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. The bases themselves are only part of the story. This BRAC process had seven joint cross-service groups to examine common business processes in education and training; headquarters and support; technical; industrial; supply and storage; intelligence; and medical. Wynne said jointness - services working together -- was key to creating military value, and military value was the most important consideration as the BRAC process progressed. "These joint cross-service groups were key to making this jointness a reality in this process," Wynne said. "They each were chaired by a senior executive or flag officer, with representation from each of the military services, from the Joint Staff and from the relevant defense agencies involved." More than half of the future annual savings $2.9 billion of the estimated $5.5 billion is generated from the joint cross-service groups, officials said.
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 17, 2005 The Defense Department's base realignment and closure recommendations are now in the hands of the nine-member commission that will make the final decisions. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission takes its independent role very seriously, said the BRAC chairman, and he vowed an "open and transparent" process. Anthony Principi, the commission chairman, said closure and realignment decisions are tough. "These decisions will impact the lives of a great many Americans," he said during an interview. "By going out and visiting bases, by talking to community leaders, we can be that independent check." Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld turned the list of recommendations over to the commission May 13. He recommended closing 33 major bases and realigning 29 other major bases. DoD officials said that with 318 major bases, this BRAC round would close about 10 percent of the stateside bases in DoD. Rumsfeld's recommendations are based on the military value of installations measured against a force-structure plan for the next 20 years. "This is going to be the most difficult (BRAC) round because it is very complex," the former Department of Veterans Affairs secretary said. "There are changes being made at one installation that impact many other installations. It's kind of like a daisy chain. We need to be careful if we make a decision contrary to the secretary of defense recommendation that will have an impact on several other locations, (and we) need to look at that carefully." Principi stressed he wants all deliberations to be "open and transparent" and does not want the process to become politicized. "I want to ensure that decisions are based upon the criteria set out in the law and the force-structure plan, and not because of some political consideration," he said. The BRAC commission will judge the recommendations using the same criteria that DoD officials used, the most important being military value. But there are other criteria, Principi said, and those include economic and environmental impacts on communities. The commission chairman said he thinks his panel needs to look at the changes recommended to the National Guard and Reserve infrastructure. "I think that will have a major, major impact on the reserves and the Guard, and we need to look at that carefully," he said. He said he believes this BRAC round has much more emphasis on the reserve components than previous rounds. "Obviously, this is a concern," he said. "We're a nation at war, the Guard and reserves are playing a more prominent role than ever before, certainly (more important than) when I was in uniform. And now we're going to be closing a significant number of bases, and people are going to have to travel greater distances to undertake their weekend drills." He said this might be easy to travel if the affected person is a pilot. But the men and women who generate the missions -- the crew chiefs, loadmasters, refuelers and weapons specialists -- are "going to have a tough time" getting to their new assignments. He admitted that many in the Guard and reserves travel good distances to serve. Still, "if you grew up in that community and we're saying you have to drive 300 or 400 miles or fly even longer distances, that's going to have an impact on retention." Principi went through a similar process as Veterans Affairs secretary. He changed the VA infrastructure to meet changes in demographics and health- care delivery of the 21st century. He said he learned firsthand the upheaval that takes place when a military base that has served the nation half a century or longer is closed. "I'm very sensitive to it," he said. "That's not to say it's more important than national security. National security always has to have the highest priority. But we always must be mindful of economic impact." Principi said the commissioners understand the need to transform the military. "The ability to engage in joint readiness operations and warfighting and capability is a move in the right direction," he said. He added that he agrees with Rumsfeld's work to make the military "more efficient, effective, mobile and flexible." By Gerry J. Gilmore American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 17, 2005 Air Force recommendations provided to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission will reorganize that service, making it more capable to address threats to national security, the Air Force's top civilian told commission members here today. "We have presented to you a bold program that will reshape the Air Force, improving our ability to defend the nation and doing so with a smaller, more efficient, effective and less-costly base infrastructure," Acting Air Force Secretary Michael L. Dominguez told commission Chairman Anthony J. Principi during a public hearing. Dominguez, who was accompanied by Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper and other senior officials, said the Air Force's BRAC recommendations would affect 115 of the 154 installations that were evaluated. The Air Force has been reshaping itself into a leaner and more capable force since the end of the Cold War, Dominguez noted to committee members. "And, we will become yet still smaller," Dominguez predicted, noting that technological advancements are providing more military punch while enabling the service to reduce its overall size. For example, the Air Force deployed more than 1,000 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers "to drop 9,000 bombs to destroy one target" during World War II, Dominguez pointed out. Today, he noted, one modern B-2 Spirit bomber "can engage 80 targets with 80 bombs in all weather with greatly increased accuracy." New aircraft slated to enter the Air Force inventory in the near future will be even more combat capable, Dominguez noted, and "will fly longer" between downtimes for scheduled maintenance. The Air Force wants to consolidate, close or realign those installations that don't fit into the Air Expeditionary Force concept, Dominguez noted. The AEF, he explained, "draws small, predefined pieces from different Air Force units and fashions those pieces into provisional, or expeditionary, squadrons and wings" that are deployed for overseas combat missions. The stateside bases would perform their normal operations while maintaining a high state of readiness to support wartime contingencies, he added. The AEF concept also serves the needs of joint warfighters, Dominguez explained, noting its modularity "allows us to package our forces into combat units tailored specifically to the needs of the combatant commanders." The Air Force's BRAC recommendations recognize the need to defend the American homeland from threats presented by terrorists or other potential enemies, Dominguez noted. Therefore his service's recommendations "preserve the air sovereignty alert mission," he said. Dominguez said the Air Force values the partnership between its active, Guard and Reserve pilots and crewmembers, noting its BRAC recommendations will position the reserve components "for leading roles in a variety of emerging, in-demand, warfighting missions." And, the fact the United States remains engaged in a global war against terrorism "makes this base realignment and closure an imperative," Dominguez said. The Air Force recommends 10 base closures and 62 realignments, Jumper reported, noting the proposals "will 'right size' our force." As a result, he noted, Air Force fighter units will be reconfigured and upsized to 18 to 24 aircraft per squadron. Air Force units will also be "placed in higher military-value settings" and located "closer to appropriate ranges for operational missions," Jumper noted. The estimated net savings envisioned for the Air Force as a result of recommended base closure and realignment actions totals more than $14 billion over 20 years, Jumper reported. The Air Force arrived at its BRAC recommendations after making some "tough decisions," Jumper acknowledged to committee members. However, "the important gains in war fighting effectiveness and the savings that we will be able to reinvest in combat capability outweigh those concerns," he said.
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 18, 2005 The U.S. Army looks on the base realignment and closure process as a chance to reshape the total force, Army Secretary Francis Harvey told the BRAC commission today. Harvey and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker spoke of how the process allows the Army to continue efforts to transform the force. Military value was at the heart of all Army BRAC recommendations, the leaders said, with the realization that soldiers will be working more and more with members of other services. "The Army has aggressively undertaken a comprehensive effort to develop a force that is more expeditionary, joint, deployable, flexible and adaptive," Francis said. The BRAC recommendations will allow the service to transform from a Cold War force to one ready to confront the threats of the 21st century, he added. Harvey said the Army worked to "streamline" the service to better meet current and future threats. It also wanted to eliminate infrastructure no longer needed. Complicating the Army decision was providing bases for thousands of soldiers and their families returning from overseas as part of the changing DoD global footprint. The service examined 97 major installations and ranked them according to the criteria in the BRAC law, the officials explained. Military value was the most important criterion, they said. Overall, the Defense Department recommends closing 15 Army installations and seven leased sites. It also recommends closing 176 Army Reserve installations and 211 Army National Guard facilities. The Guard sites can close only with the approval of state governors. The department also recommends creating seven training centers of excellence, seven joint technical and research facilities and four joint material and logistics facilities. The service looked at more than 4,000 Army Reserve and Army National Guard facilities. Harvey said state adjutants general and Army Reserve Regional Readiness commanders participated in the analyses. "The military value criteria was used to identify existing or new installations in the same demographic area that provide enhanced homeland defense, training and mobilization capabilities," Harvey said. "The Army sought to create multi-component facilities - National Guard, Army Reserve and active Army - and multi-service, joint facilities to enhance mission accomplishment." Harvey said the Army's recommendations went to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld in broad categories. The first category realigned active duty operational forces including those returning from overseas. Second, the service worked to realign or close reserve component installations to transform command and control functions and force structure. The proposal also creates Armed Forces Reserve Centers. The third priority was to close or realign installations to consolidate headquarters and create joint installations. The fourth priority realigned installations to create joint or service training centers of excellence. The fifth priority was aimed at transforming service logistics. Finally, the service proposed realigning the Defense research, development, testing and evaluation organizations to create joint centers of excellence. Harvey stressed the BRAC is inextricably linked to the Army's push to create a "modular force" based on brigades rather than divisions.
By Donna Miles American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 17, 2005 The secretary of the Navy said today he's "confident" that base closures and realignments recommended for the sea service are "more than sufficient to fully support the future Navy and Marine Corps force structure." Gordon R. England, who also serves as acting deputy secretary of defense, told members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission that the world, the country and the Navy have changed. In response, he said, the Navy must adapt its infrastructure to better meet this new environment. That involves transforming the military so it's ready to meet current and future threats and demands eliminating excess infrastructure and consolidating operations, England told the commission. To support this effort, the Defense Department has recommended closing nine major Navy bases and 46 smaller installations and realigning eight major Navy bases. The recommended changes were based on saving defense dollars so they can be invested where they're needed and developing bases to support military readiness for the future, Anne Davis, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, told the committee members. The Navy's share of the BRAC recommendations, once implemented, would save $1.5 billion a year. Adm. Vern Clark, chief of naval operations, and Gen. Michael Hagee, commandant of the Marine Corps, joined England in supporting the BRAC proposals. Clark told committee members he's never seen a previous BRAC process that focused so closely on joint operations. He said he is impressed by the concrete, objective analysis that went into formulating the recommendations. Hagee said the proposed changes eliminate excess infrastructure but preserve critical ground and air training areas needed to support military readiness. The proposals also promote joint use of military training sites to maximize their effectiveness. The decision-making behind the BRAC recommendations "has been a very difficult process for the department," England told the commission, particularly in light of the potential impact on communities that have shown strong support for their local bases. The process involved "very, very difficult choices," Clark agreed, He specifically mentioned the recommendation to close Naval Submarine Base New London, in Connecticut, as the Navy reduces its attack submarine fleet. Clark said the Navy has established strong relationships with many of the affected communities but had to face current circumstances and long-term requirements. "We have too much structure," he told the commission. "In order for us to have the Navy that we need to have in the future, we have got to redirect resources to the recapitalization process." BRAC decisions have to be long-term to accomplish their objectives, he said. "It's not about where I want to be next year. This question is, 'Where do I want to be in 20 years?'" he said. The 2005 BRAC recommendations, he said, represent "the direction to get us where we think we need to be 20 years from now."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 13, 2005 "We train joint, we fight joint, we might as well live joint," is how Charles S. Abell summarizes the Defense Department's recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Abell, principal deputy to the undersecretary for personnel and readiness, chaired the joint cross-service group working on training and education issues in developing DoD's recommendations. "Our mission was to look through the department and across the services and search for better ways to do business," Abell said in an interview today. "We specifically were looking at fresh ways and different approaches to training and education." The joint groups worked closely together and with the services. The recommendations of the groups received as much weight as those of the services, said Pentagon officials. Abell's group included leaders of all the services and the Joint Staff. One example of the type of recommendation Abell said his group worked toward involves the Joint Strike Fighter. When the aircraft reaches the inventory, the services will do training jointly at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. "We wanted to make sure the Navy wouldn't do training at a naval air station, the Air Force at an air base and the Marines at a Marine Corps air station," Abell said. All training will be at Eglin, and that will pay off later as the pilots fly together in operations, he said. Another example involves combining air defense artillery and field artillery. The ADA school at Fort Bliss, Texas, will move to Fort Sill, Okla., and combine with the Artillery School. The new Net Fires School will train Army and Marine Corps personnel. The same will happen at Fort Benning, Ga., when the Armor School - which trains soldiers and Marines - moves in. Other Joint Centers of Excellence will be established at Fort Lee, Va., for joint service culinary training and at Fort Jackson, S.C., for chaplains and chaplains' assistants. More details about the joint cross-service groups will be available in the coming days.
BRAC Timeline: May 16, 2005 DoD will publicly release the "BRAC list" which will include the bases recommended for closure/realignment, the justification for each closure/realignment, and the proposed relocation of the closed bases’ current activities.Over the course of the next four months, members of the BRAC Commission will visit each base recommended forclosure and public hearings will be held. This will allow each community/state the opportunity to provide the Commission with additional information before it makes its final decisions. After the public hearings, the Commission will vote either to accept, reject, or change the recommendation of each base on the BRAC list. A vote of 5 of the 9 members is required to remove a base from the list. A vote of 7 of the 9 is required to add a base to the list. September 8, 2005 Commission publicly releases its report with findings on the final BRAC list and sends to President. September 23, 2005 President approves or disapproves "but cannot change" the list. If President disapproves, a memo will be sent to the Commission detailing reasons for disapproval and Commission must send revised recommendations to the President by Oct. 20, 2005. November 7, 2005 President sends approved list to Congress. If President still disapproves, the BRAC process ends. List and recommendations become binding unless Congress 45 legislative days later enacts a joint resolution of disapproval which would terminate the base closure process. NEWS RELEASE from the United States Department of Defense May 13, 2005 Fact Sheet Medical BRAC Recommendations for the National Capital Region The 2005 BRAC recommendations afford this department the opportunity to transform and improve how medical care will be delivered to the department's 9.1 million beneficiaries in the 21st Century. BRAC 2005 medical recommendations include a number of realignments and consolidations of military medical activities and facilities. These initiatives follow the overall BRAC rationale and goals. In all instances, improving access to care for beneficiaries was a priority consideration; other considerations included military value, quality of care, and opportunities for efficiency through joint organizational solutions. Military Health System activities evaluated in the BRAC 2005 process included patient care facilities, education and training activities, and research, development and acquisition activities; in all, 234 military medical activities were evaluated. _The Realignment_ Establish the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) at Bethesda, Md., as a 300-bed Medical Center with the full range of intensive and complex specialty and subspecialty medical services, including specialized facilities for the most seriously war injured. This facility will serve as the U. S. military's worldwide tertiary referral center for casualty and beneficiary care. Construct a large Community Hospital at Fort Belvoir, Va., a 165-bed facility jointly staffed facility focused on family and community medicine, especially to serve the large number of military beneficiaries in the southern-most areas of the National Capital Region. Convert the 89th Medical Group at Andrews Air Force Base to a clinic with ambulatory surgery capability and realign some staff to the new WRNMMC and new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. Realign Walter Reed Army Medical Center, D.C., by assigning management, clinical, and training activities to the new WRNMMC and the new community hospital at Fort Belvoir. Research and Development activities will relocate and form Centers of Excellence at Fort Sam Houston, Tex., Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., or Fort Detrick, Md. Realign the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology by moving the DNA registry and the Medical Examiners functions to Dover Air Force Base, Dover, Del.; the technician training functions to Fort Sam Houston, Tex.; the museum to WRNMMC, and outsource non-military essential pathology activities. Maintain existing military outpatient capabilities at Fort Myer, Bolling Air Force Base, the Pentagon and other military clinics in the surrounding NCR. The substantial construction required for this recommendation will result in major investments in new facilities occurring after 2008. _Why?_ These realignment actions for the NCR create a single world class, jointly staffed medical center complex for support of the troops and their families. They will improve the use of military infrastructure by fully utilizing newly constructed inpatient capacity at Bethesda, while better serving our beneficiary population with a new community hospital at Fort Belvoir. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was opened in 1977 with a designed capacity of 1200 beds. The Bethesda National Naval Medical Center was opened in 1980 with a designed capacity of 450 beds and rehabilitated in 1995. Andrews was opened in 1958 with a design capacity 250 beds. Today these facilities use each day, on average, only a fraction of their available beds; 189 (Walter Reed), 113 (Bethesda) and 33 (Andrews). These realignment actions afford better placement of healthcare delivery capabilities in the National Capital Region. Demographics show that the beneficiary population has been moving into Northern Virginia for the past several years - straining the capabilities of the current DeWitt Army Community Hospital. The creation of a new, jointly staffed, state-of-the-art community hospital at Fort Belvoir delivers enhanced services to the Northern Virginia military community. Investing and modernizing key military infrastructure will enhance the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of the Military Health System. This realignment of healthcare is estimated to cost $988 million, and will provide the DoD with an enduring annual savings of approximately $100 million with an estimated savings of $301 million above the implementation costs over the next 20 years. _Advantages_ The amount of healthcare provided through military facilities in the National Capital Region will remain the same, with markedly improved access for our beneficiaries, particularly in the growing Northern Virginia area. Joint staffing of these hospitals will bring together the very best expertise found in Army, Navy, and Air Force medicine to better serve our military men and women, especially those returning from the field critically ill or injured. We will combine two facilities operating at less than full capacity into one fully utilized, world-class military healthcare complex. This move also allows us to better leverage both the training capabilities resident in the Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences on the same campus and the research leadership of the National Institutes of Health immediately across the street to offer a unique and fully integrated military platform for healthcare, education, and research. This action will enhance the seamless care we've seen delivered from jointly staffed facilities in Iraq through the jointly staffed Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany to the United States.
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 13, 2005 Defense officials have used the base realignment and closure process to transform the way military medicine operates. Medical facilities will become more joint, they will consolidate where patients reside and they will become state-of-the-art. "We want to rival Johns Hopkins or the Mayo Clinics," said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant defense secretary for health affairs. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld delivered his recommendations for base realignment and closure to the BRAC Commission today. The medical recommendations are part of this process. The recommendations mean changes to military medicine in the nation's capital and San Antonio, as well as changes in many other military health facilities in the United States. The major recommendation would establish the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the grounds of the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. It also will create a brand-new 165-bed community hospital at Fort Belvoir, Va. If approved, this will cost around $1 billion, said Dr. (Lt. Gen.) George P. Taylor, Air Force surgeon general, who headed the joint cross-service group that worked on DoD's medical BRAC recommendations. Army, Navy and Air Force medical personnel will staff both facilities. The current hospitals - Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda - are separated by just seven miles. They are the primary receiving hospitals for casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan. "We believe the best way to do this is to place the facility on the Bethesda campus," Taylor said. In addition to housing the Walter Reed National Medical Center, the Bethesda campus will keep the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The National Institutes of Health is also right across the street from the Bethesda facility. "The facility is able to accommodate the in-patient activities at this location," Taylor said. Part of this recommendation would close the Army's Walter Reed campus in Washington, D.C., and Malcolm Grow Hospital at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., would close its in-patient facilities and become a large same-day surgery center. "We know these types of joint medical facilities work," Taylor said. "We have two of them today: Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany has been staffed by Army and Air Force for more than 10 years. If you go to Balad Hospital in Balad (Iraq), it is Army and Air Force run." Changes would take place in San Antonio also. The two big medical platforms there are Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston and the 59th Medical Wing's Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base. Plans call for medical care to center at Brooke. It will become the San Antonio Regional Medical Center, and will be a jointly staffed, 425-bed center. At Lackland, BRAC recommends building a world-class outpatient and ambulatory surgery center. The trauma center at Lackland will close, and Brooke will expand to handle the need. San Antonio also will become the hub for training enlisted medical technicians of all services. Currently, the Army trains at Sam Houston, but the Air Force trains medics at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and sailors train at Great Lakes, Ill., San Diego, and Portsmouth, Va. "All enlisted specialty training would be done at Fort Sam Houston," Taylor said. The approximate student load would be about 4,500. Aaerospace medicine research will move from Brooks City Base (the one-time Brooks Air Force Base) to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The Navy's Aeromedical Research Lab will move from Pensacola, Fla., to Wright-Patterson also. The recommendations create six new centers of excellence for biomedical research, and all are joint. Assets will come from Navy, Air Force and Army locations to these new centers. They are: the Joint Center of Excellence in Battlefield Health and Trauma at the Brooke Regional Medical Center, the Joint Center of Excellence in Infectious Disease Research at the Forest Glen Complex in Maryland, the Joint Center of Excellence for Aerospace Medicine Research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the Joint Center of Excellence in Regulated Medical Product Development and Acquisition at Fort Detrick, Md., the Joint Center of Excellence in Biomedical Defense Research at Fort Detrick, and the Joint Center of Excellence in Chemical, Biological Defense Research, Development and Acquisition at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. Overall, the recommendations will cost $2.4 billion to build new facilities and capabilities. Once in place, the services will save $400 million per year, officials said. The joint cross-service group, new in this round of BRAC, was able to make recommendations to the secretary. In past BRAC rounds, joint groups merely advised service leaders. "It is my view that the group put together a very thoughtful, very comprehensive plan for improving military health care," said Winkenwerder. "It is a plan that allows us to invest in, and modernize key flagship facilities and at the same time, it will allow the military health system to be more efficient."
By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 12, 2005 - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's recommendations to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission would cut excess military infrastructure between 5 and 11 percent, Rumsfeld said during a Pentagon news conference today. "The department is recommending fewer major base closures than had earlier been anticipated, due in part to the return of tens of thousands of troops through our global posture review, and also due to decisions to reduce lease space by moving activities from lease space into owned facilities," Rumsfeld said. But more than simply eliminating infrastructure, the BRAC round will allow the U.S. military to reorder itself to face the new threats of the 21st century, the secretary said. "In 1961, President Kennedy took office and found a U.S. defense establishment that was still largely arranged to re-fight World War II," Rumsfeld said. "He ordered an extensive consolidation of bases to meet the challenges of the Cold War." DoD finds itself in the same situation. The department is using the BRAC round to change an infrastructure more attuned to the Cold War to meet "the new demands of war against extremists and other evolving 21st century challenges," Rumsfeld said. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, said that BRAC gives the military the opportunity "to increase our combat efficiency and effectiveness, and return our forces to the deployable force structure, thereby reducing stress on the force." Many BRAC recommendations will ease stress on servicemembers by allowing the military to provide modern, world-class facilities and more efficient and joint organizations, the chairman said. The secretary's recommendations go to the BRAC Commission on May 13. The commission will examine the recommendations and make its independent judgment on each. The commission will present its list to President Bush in September. The president may approve or disapprove the list in total. If he approves it, it will go to Congress. Congress has 45 days to disapprove the list. If it does not, the list becomes law. The secretary emphasized that the prime factor in each BRAC recommendation is an assessment of an installation's underlying military value. "In a time of war, whenever we can find ways to increase support for military needs to help the warfighters, we should do no less," he said. Previous BRAC rounds - in 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995 - eliminated 21 percent of excess U.S. military infrastructure, and reallocated many billions of dollars to pressing military needs. "This year's recommendation ... should result in some $5.5 billion in recurring annual savings, a net savings of $48.8 billion over 20 years," Rumsfeld said. "When combined with the proposed changes to U.S. global posture, that projected 20-year net-savings increases from $48.8 billion to $64.2 billion, or some $6.7 billion per year." The BRAC process began more than two years ago. Senior civilian and military leaders looked at how to close and realign current infrastructure to maximize warfighting capability. "We had three objectives when we did that: continuing the progress we have made in transforming our force, including how we integrate our reserve component into the total force, and preparing them for the 21st century; and how we posture our forces globally to be more flexible and agile," Myers said, adding, "Second, configuring our infrastructure to enhance joint warfighting, facilitate joint training and improve efficiency and, finally, converting unneeded capacity into warfighting capability." Both Rumsfeld and Myers thanked the many civilian and military personnel who worked on the process. Officials said base closings and realignments are hard on the communities affected by the changes. Rumsfeld pledged to help the communities and workers that will be displaced by the process. "The department will take great care to work with these communities, with the respect that they have earned, and the government stands ready with economic assistance," he said. Archives
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