DoD Cites Excess Base Capacity

The Defense Department has repeated, although in greater detail, its prior argument that despite four rounds of base closings since 1988 it still has excess capacity in its facilities. The latest report, required by the law authorizing another round of base closings that could be authorized next year, says that since the most recent round of closings that started in 1995, the threat to national security has changed, as have the department’s operational doctrines and business practices. DoD estimated that it has 24 percent excess capacity overall-29 percent in the Army, 24 percent in the Air Force, 21 percent in the Navy and 17 percent in the Defense Logistics Agency. Officials have said in the past, though, that the percentage of capacity deemed excess will not necessarily translate into recommendations to trim facilities by those same percentages. Also, while base closings and reorganizations cause loss of civilian employee jobs, the percentages don’t directly correlate in that area, either. A more detailed analysis of the department’s base structure is now under way in preparation for making recommendations to a base closing commission that will begin operating next year.