Another BRAC Now

In June 2017, Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified before the House Armed Services Committee about Department of Defense needs, praising Congress for its willingness to discuss [base realignment and closure (BRAC)] authorization as an efficiency measure. In fact, he insisted, that authorization is essential to improving our readiness by minimizing wasted resources and accommodating force adjustments. Lucian Niemeyer, the assistant secretary of defense for Energy, Installations and Environment, explained BRAC is not just a matter of finding efficiencies; it's a matter of improving military value and [the] effectiveness and lethality of our forces. The debate over the BRAC process needs to be better informed by context and a real-world understanding of BRAC's effects, particularly the less appreciated way closing excess facilities positively impacts communities. This article aims to provide more perspective by reviewing the BRAC process, exploring two cases in which former bases were successfully repurposed, and considers why the process has broken down. It concludes with recommendations for how the process should proceed.