In 2005, Congress established BRAC, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, to make recommendations about the future of military bases all over the United States. BRAC's job was to evaluate the future needs of the Department of Defense, weighing the military value of bases against the human impact of changes that might be made. Having done that, the Commission made its recommendations.
Most of the recommendations made by BRAC are scheduled to be completed by late fall 2011. In some cases, the process of reorganizing the bases has already begun. In many communities, though, the changes are just beginning. Some communities, such as the Washington D.C. area, will experience a fairly massive relocation of military employees and their families.
If one family moves, the move is an organizational and logistical challenge for the family. But when tens of thousands of families move, the result is an organizational and logistical challenge for communities. In the Beltway area around Washington D.C., for example, the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia Departments of Transportation have had to plan for the influx of thousands more commuters onto roads, buses, and railways.
Overall, the BRAC changes at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, alone will involve employees from 160 different Defense Department agencies. About 19,300 employees will relocate into the Fort Belvoir area starting next fall. Daily traffic flow through the front gates of Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, for example, is expected to increase from 30,000 per day to 48,000 per day. (As of next year, Ft. Belvoir's workforce will surpass that of the Pentagon.) In an attempt to alleviate traffic congestion, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is extending the Fairfax County Parkway another 1.8 miles, to connect it with U.S. route 1. Twenty separate building projects associated with Fort Belvoir are underway -- not all of them at the Fort itself. The new Mark Center, a $1.08 billion complex that will become the workplace of 6,400 employees from 23 Defense Department agencies, will be located in Alexandria. Currently, VDOT simulations are forecasting "complete gridlock conditions on Seminary Road and Beauregard Street in the vicinity of the Mark Center site as outbound traffic tries to exit the facility," according to a report quoted in yesterday's Federal Times.
In addition to the new Mark Center, the Fort is building a new $800 million hospital to replace the 53-year-old DeWitt Army Hospital (nearby, in Maryland, the Bethesda Naval Medical Center is also being expanded). In Albemarle County, near Charlottesville, at Rivana Station, a $61 million Joint-Use Intelligence Analysis Facility is being built. It will become the workplace of 800 Defense Intelligence Agency employees and 200 National Ground Intelligence Center employees. (The National Ground Intelligence Center is a branch of the Army Intelligence and Security Command.) A new $1.8 billion facility for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency will consolidate the NGA's branches in Bethesda, Maryland; Northern Virginia; Washington D.C.; and St. Louis, Missouri into one building near Fort Belvoir -- which, incidentally, will be the largest federal facility to receive LEED certification for being environmentally-friendly.
In addition to making plans to alleviate traffic congestion, planners preparing for BRAC changes have had to arrange for the construction of new grocery stores, child care centers, additional housing, and other community infrastructure. In some communities new schools are being built. In New Orleans, for example, the Marine Forces Reserve headquarters is being moved to a new, greatly-needed facility (the old one has pieces of concrete falling off the ceilings and is battling a mold problem). The new facility will be part of a new development that will also house the Marine Forces North and the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, which are currently located in Kansas City, Missouri. The new complex will be called Federal City and will have new housing, a grocery store, a childcare center, restaurants, sports and recreational facilities, and new schools. It is expected to attract 10,000 additional jobs to the New Orleans area.
Local merchants and businesspeople are trying to help whenever possible. The following self storage companies, for example, are offering military discounts:
- 21st Century Self Storage, nationwide
- A + Moving and Storage, nationwide
- AAA Security Mini Storage, North Carolina
- All About Storage, Texas
- All American Self Storage, California
- Caribbean Self Storage
- Carolina Storage Centers, North Carolina
- Central Self Storage, Hawaii
- Compass Self Storage, Florida
- Coronado Self Storage, Bernalillo, New Mexico
- Dallas Car Storage, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- Discount Storage, O'Fallon, Illinois
- Evergreen Self Storage, Parkland, Washington
- Locker Room Self Storage, Pennsylvania
- Metro East MiniStorage, Edwardsville, Illinois
- Metropolitan Van and Storage, nationwide
- Mini Storage Depot, Indiana
- National City Self Storage, National City, California
- North Carolina Self Storage/Penske Rentals, North Carolina
- Patriot Self Storage, nationwide
- Pinehurst Mini Storage & Warehouses, North Carolina
- Rt. 59 Self Storage, Plainfield, Illinois
- Safeguard Self Storage, nationwide
- Secure Self Storage, northeastern U.S.
- Security Self Storage, Florida
- Simply Storage, Virginia
- Stars and Stripes Self Storage, South Carolina
- Storage Center, Virginia
- StorageMart, San Antonio, Texas
- StorSecure Self Storage, Hawaii
- Storage West Self Storage, California
Please call ahead to be sure that the military discount is still in effect. The list above is not complete -- if your local self storage facility is not listed, you may wish to call and ask whether it offers a military discount. Other companies offering military discounts for relocation expenses such as movers, realtors, mortgages, packers, hotels, cell phones, airline tickets, pet boarding and transportation, and shopping can be found at Military.com.
Local chambers of commerce have responded to the changing makeup of their communities by putting together information packets and setting up orientation conferences for military families, to give them a sense of what their new communities have to offer.
In some communities, bases that have been a part of the community for many years are closing. Then, in addition to losing families and jobs, the community must find a use for the old base buildings and land. At the Charleston Naval Base in South Carolina, government agencies have moved in. Pease Air Force Base, in New Hampshire, has become a designated Foreign Free Trade Zone, with 175 merchants in residence. A base in Fort Devens, Massachusetts is being completely redeveloped, with new construction, including a new manufacturing plant. The Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority plans to use the empty base at what was once Fort Monroe, Virginia, as a teacher training institute. A business park is being developed on land that once belonged to the Letterkenny Army Depot in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
In one case, an Air Force base that was going to become a BRAC closure received an eleventh hour reprieve -- the Springfield, Ohio National Guard Base, which was going to be closed, will now be kept open to run remote control operations of Predator aircraft. Springfield soldiers will operate aircraft that are on location in Iraq and Afghanistan. A unit of MQ-1 aircraft, making up 866 jobs, has also been assigned to the Springfield base.
Sources used:
Associated Press. "Army estimates Fort Monroe cleanup at $60M to $70M." The Daily Press. May 7, 2010.
BRAC. "Base realignment and closure 2005: frequently asked questions."
Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. "2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission Report."
Hook, Jim. "100 acres to go back to Letterkenny Army Depot." Public Opinion.
"New mission outlined for Springfield Air Base." WHIOTV.com. May 10, 2010.
Sanborn, James. "MarForRes gets big-time upgrade with new HQ." Marine Times. April 26, 2010.
Tice, Jim. "BRAC move will give Army post more workers than Pentagon." The Federal Times. May 11, 2010.