Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)[1][2] was a process[3] by a United States federal government commission[4] to increase the efficiency of the United States Department of Defense by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end of the Cold War. Over 350 installations have been closed in five BRAC rounds: 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005. These five BRAC rounds constitute a combined savings of $12 billion annually.[5]
Background
[edit]The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, passed after the 1947 reorganization of the National Military Establishment, reduced the number of U.S. military bases, forts, posts, and stations. The subsequent 1950s buildup for the Cold War (e.g., during the Korean War) resulted in large numbers of new installations, such as the Permanent System radar stations and Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) control centers. By 1959, plans for even larger numbers of Cold War installations were canceled (e.g., DoD's June 19, 1959, Continental Air Defense Program reduced the number of Super Combat Center underground nuclear bunkers to 7). In 1958, U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) began to replace Strategic Air Command bombers. From 1960 to 1964, the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations closed 574 U.S. military bases around the world, particularly after President John F. Kennedy was briefed after his inauguration that the missile gap was not a concern.[6]
- 1961 closures
- On March 28, 1961, President Kennedy announced the closure of 73 military establishments.[7][8]
- 1964 closures
- "In December 1963, Secretary McNamara announced the closure of twenty-six DOD installations or activities in the CONUS".[9]: 134
- 1965 closures
- Secretary of Defense