A base closure timetable

By By Buddy Bynum / editor
March 9, 2003
Thanks to the publication National Defense, we now know more about the Department of Defense's strategy and timetable for closing military bases in the U.S. in 2005.
The name of the game, as a March 1 piece in the publication said, is "joint bases," meaning bases that are now owned by individual services and can be turned into joint bases that would be shared by more than one organization.
Ones that can will survive, maybe even prosper as new missions are added. Ones that can't will go away.
Of special interest to our area, in fact all of Mississippi, potential candidates for consolidation include military pilot training schools, laboratories, health care and medical treatment facilities. Such facilities as Naval Air Station Meridian, Columbus Air Force Base and Keesler Air Force Base are all possible and I emphasize "possible"  candidates for closure.
According to National Defense, the Bush administration wants to slash by 20 percent to 25 percent in order to save about $6 billion a year. A 30-member "board of directors" is already working on the initial proposals due to the secretary of defense by the spring '05.
Shutdowns
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld reportedly sees the 2005 round of base realignment and closures what we commonly refer to as BRAC as a singular opportunity, perhaps the last best chance in a generation, to reshape infrastructure and optimize military readiness.
If the 2005 BRAC moves forward as planned, several hundred installations would be scrutinized for possible shutdowns or realignments.
Word is that all installations are on the table.
A total of 352 military facilities were closed and 145 realigned in four previous BRAC rounds, 1988, 1991, 1993 and 1995. Ninety-seven of them were listed as major installations.
Obviously, this is serious business.
Under a plan approved by Congress in 2001, the defense secretary will submit a list of proposed closures and realignments to a nine-member BRAC Commission by May 16, 2005. The commission (whose members must be confirmed by the Senate) would have until Sept. 8, 2005, to revise the list.
As was the case in the other four BRAC rounds, both the president and Congress will have to accept or reject the entire list.
Timeline
Here's the timeline:
February 2004  The secretary must deliver to Congress a 24-year force structure plan, a report on worldwide infrastructure inventory and the type of infrastructure necessary to support that force structure plan. He also must provide an economic analysis of the financial implications of BRAC. He must certify that there is a need for BRAC and that there will be annual savings by 2011.
The recommendations are binding 45 days after the president sends them to Congress, unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval.
Oct. 20, 2005  The commission must come back to the president with either the same or some modified list of recommendations. The president can accept or reject the entire list, but not parts of it. If he accepts, he has until Nov. 7 to inform Congress.
Between now and then, you can bet that members of the Mississippi Military Communities Council, the state's congressional delegation and many, many others will be working diligently to strengthen the positions of bases in Mississippi.
And that, friends, is something we all must support.