BRAC to the Future

As others have been noting for the past couple of days, the independent Base Realignment and Closing Commission (BRAC) is completing its recommendations for closings based on Pentagon proposals. I've been checking in with these hearings all week, mainly to see what happened with important bases in New Hampshire, Maine, South Dakota, and New Mexico. While the vast majority of closures and realignments proposed by the DoD have been approved, the BRAC's members have shown their independence in several key decisions.

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Groton Submarine Base, Ellsworth Air Force Base and Cannon Air Force Base were all spared by the Commission, against the Pentagon's wishes but much to the relief of the congressional delegations and state governments of their states, whose members fought hard to keep the bases up and running. The commission is expected to finish deliberations tonight, and then send its report to the president before September 8. Bush has said that he will send the report on to Congress without demanding changes - Congress must then vote to approve or disapprove the entire package of recommendations (they are widely expected to accept the plan).

I'm glad that BRAC didn't just rubber-stamp the Pentagon's recommendations. Watching their deliberations, it was clear that the commissioners and their staff had studied each specific base in some detail, and knew exactly the ramifications of their actions. It seemed a very well-managed and efficient process, and while some will not agree with their decisions to close certain bases and leave others open, I think that overall they have done the country a great service.