BRAC COMMISSION CONSIDERS MORE BASE

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

BRAC COMMISSION CONSIDERS MORE CLOSURES

 On May 10, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 
Commission added 31 more military bases to the list it is 
considering to recommend for closure this year. It was already 
reviewing a list submitted by the Secretary of Defense in February.

 In the BRAC process, the Commission must list bases if it 
wishes to study them. And it must hear testimony from affected 
communities if it lists them. By June 11, it will visit and hear 
testimony on all the new listings.

 In some cases, the military put on the closure list a group of 
similar facilities, such as Air Materiel (Air Logistics) Centers. At 
the most, it might recommend the closure of two, Air Material 
Centers, but it listed all five, so it could compare them. (For this 
reason, I am not tabulating the potential environmental costs of 
cleaning up the bases on the new list. It would greatly exaggerate 
the total.) Some of those Air Materiel Centers, such as McClellan 
Air Force Base, have massive cleanup problems. WIth current 
methods, McClellan's remediation will likely cost $1.5 to $2 
BILLION.

 If past BRAC rounds are any guide, most of the bases 
marked by the Secretary of Defense will be closed. Few, if any, 
from the Commission's list of others under consideration will be 
recommended for closure.

 The BRAC Commission, headed by former Senator Alan 
Dixon, begins its final deliberations on June 22 in Washington, DC.

NEWLY LISTED BASES

AIR FORCE
Carswell Air Reserve Station, Texas
Chicago O'Hare International Airport Air Reserve Station, Illinois
Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi
General Mitchell Air Reserve Station, Wisconsin
Kelly Air Force Base, Texas
Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas
McClellan Air Force Base, California
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Air Reserve Station, 
Minnesota
Niagara Falls International Airport Air Reserve Station, New York
Robins Air Force Base, Georgia
Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
VanceAir Force Base, Oklahoma 
Youngstown-Warren Municipal Airport, Ohio Air Reserve Station

ARMY 
Fort Holabird, Maryland
Huntsville Space and Strategic Defense Command (leased 
facilities), Alabama
Oakland Army Base, California
Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pennsylvania

NAVY
Atlanta Naval Air Station, Georgia
Corona Naval Warfare Asessment Division, California
Engineering Field Activity, West, California
Guam Public Works Center, Guam
Oakland Fleet and Industrial Supply Center, California
Point Mugu Naval Air Station, California
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Maine
San Francisco Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion, and Repair, 
California

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Hill Defense Distribution Depot, Utah
McClellan Defense Distribution Depot, California
Oklahoma City Defense Distribution Depot, Oklahoma
San Antonio Defense Distribution Depot, Texas
Tobyhanna Defense Distribution Depot, Pennsylvania
Warner Robins Defense Distribution Depot, Georgia

BASES FROM SECRETARY OF DEFENSE'S LIST THAT ARE 
PROPOSED FOR FURTHER REALIGNMENT OR CLOSURE.

AIR FORCE
Homestead Air Reserve Station, Florida
Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota
Hill Air Force Base, Utah

ARMY
Letterkenny Army Depot, Pennsylvania