Changes Continue as BRAC Deadline Approaches

Defense Department installations officials say that the plan to relocate 123,000 military and civilian employees under provisions mandated by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission is continuing apace. With 28 BRAC recommendations complete, “We are on a tight deadline,” Dorothy Robyn, deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and management, told members of the House Appropriations subcommittee on military construction and veterans affairs during an Aug. 12 hearing. Much of the unresolved issues have to do with infrastructure and the ability of local communities to assimilate the growth – particularly in terms of increased vehicle traffic. Fort Meade, Md., which will gain 5,700 new employees, and the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Md., which will assume a much larger role once Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., closes, are two of the most apparent examples. While some communities grapple with growth concerns, the communities near Fort Monmouth, N.J., Onizuka Air Force Station, Calif., and the Navy Supply Corps School in Athens, Ga., are preparing for their closure. Onizuka will remain open in a much smaller capacity, as a satellite operations facility. The Navy Supply Corps School is moving to Newport Naval Station, R.I.; the Georgia property is being transferred to the University of Georgia. And Fort Monmouth’s operations are moving to Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.