On May 13, 2005, the Pentagon will present the Base Realignment & Closure (BRAC) Commission with the list of military bases it would like to see closed. California Connected has been following the almost herculean efforts of many communities in California as they fight to keep their bases off that list.
Among the possible targets of the Pentagon’s cuts are a rural outpost which depends entirely on its local military base for its economic livelihood and a large city which has enjoyed the ancillary benefits of the military’s high-tech brain trust for years. Meanwhile, cities across the country are vying to be chosen as the replacement for some of California’s biggest military facilities.
We follow one former base employee, now a councilman, as he pounds the pavement and works his Rolodex(r) to keep Los Angeles Air Force Base off the dreaded BRAC list. But is a base closure always an economic disaster for a community? California Connected details the challenges and profiles a few success stories of cities that have learned to live with and without the security of a military installation.
To Contact the BRAC Commission by telephone, call (703) 699-2950 or write them at:
2521 South Clark St.
Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22202
Update, May 13, 2005: The following California installations have been targetted for closure:
- Armed Forces Reserve Center, Bell
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Oakland
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Bernardino
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service, San Diego
- Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Seaside
- Naval Support Activity, Corona
- Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Detachment Concord
- Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Encino
- Navy-Marine Corps Reserve Center, Los Angeles
- Onizuka Air Force Station
- Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant
While these cuts would affect California less than previous closures, the state will likely loose more than 2,000 military jobs. That’s 16% of the total expected cuts from bases across the country.
The complete list will now be reviewed by the BRAC Commission which is expected to report to the President by September 8, 2005.
- Department of Defense website about the BRAC
- “Local installations to add 2,500 jobs under Pentagon base closure plan,” The Bakersfield Californian
- Bracing for Base Closures, The California Report
- Military Base Closures: The Impact on California Communities, The RAND Institute
- Report of the California Council on Base Support and Retention (PDF)
- Beale Regional Alliance Committee
- The Los Angeles Air Force Base Regional Alliance
- Mare Island, former host to a military base
- A list of efforts being made to keep California military bases off the BRAC list, hosted by the California Space Authority