Pentagon takes expanded role in closing bases

The Pentagon is taking a far greater role than it has in the past in deciding which military bases should be closed in 2005. As a result, the military services will have less say in deciding which bases are shut down or realigned.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld repeatedly emphasized the role of top-level decision-making by the Pentagon and the need to consolidate various services functions into joint operations as part of the 2005 round of base closures, according to a Nov. 15 memorandum obtained by Government Executive. The memorandum, titled "Transformation Through Base Realignment and Closure," is the first guidance the Pentagon has issued on how it will proceed with the next round of base closures.

"A primary objective of [the 2005 base-cloing process]... is to examine and implement opportunities for greater joint activity," Rumsfeld said in the memo to senior defense officials. "Prior ... analyses considered all functions on a service-by-service basis and, therefore, did not result in joint examination of functions that cross services."

While the Pentagon will review operations common across the military services for potential consolidation or elimination, the services will only review unique operations. Any recommendations for consolidating or eliminating these operations will be closely coordinated with the Pentagon, Rumsfeld said. In previous base closing rounds, the services have had broad latitude in determining which bases would be closed.

The memorandum also created two new organizations, operating out of the Pentagon, to manage the 2005 round of base closures. An Infrastructure Executive Council, headed by the deputy Defense secretary and including the service secretaries and chiefs of staff, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, will provide policy and oversight.

A lower-level Infrastructure Steering Council will be headed by the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics and will include the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the services' assistant secretaries for installations and environment, the service vice chiefs of staff and the deputy undersecretary of Defense for installations and environment. It will oversee joint analysis of common military functions and ensure those efforts are coordinated with service reviews of specific operations.

Rumsfeld has ordered the steering council to make recommendations to the executive council within five months as to what specific functions at bases that should be jointly analyzed for elimination or consolidation. In turn, the military services were told to "communicate regularly" with the steering council to ensure their recommendations for consolidating or eliminating bases are "fully consistent" with the council's recommendations, the memo states.

Rumsfeld said the Pentagon must consider a variety of methods of realigning bases. "A comprehensive infrastructure rationalization requires an analysis that examines a wide range of options for stationing and supporting forces and functions rather than simply reducing capacity in a status quo configuration," the memo states. Rumsfeld said the base-closing process "requires the focus and prioritization only senior leadership can bring."

The memo lays out several key dates in the base closure process: Draft criteria for base closings will be published by Dec. 31, 2003, and finalized by Feb. 16, 2004. The Defense Department's recommendations for closures will be sent to an independent commission by May 15, 2005.

As in past base-closing rounds, a nine-member bipartisan commission will be appointed by Congress to review the recommendations and come up with a final list of bases to close. Lawmakers and the President must then decide whether to accept or reject the list in its entirety.