Pentagon Troop Realignment Plan: An Introduction
The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission process was established in the late 1980’s to take the politics out of closing bases. The BRAC Commission – acting on recommendations from the Secretary of Defense - prepares a list of proposed closures and realignments to be accepted or rejected in total by the President and Congress. Since the Commission’s creation, the process has been used four times, closing nearly 300 installations and saving taxpayers over $20 billion to date.
Despite BRAC’s success, the military still has more bases than it needs, causing a drain on money and resources. In 2002, Congress authorized another round that will culminate in an “all-or-nothing” BRAC recommendation to Congress no later than November 7, 2005, perhaps sooner.
This upcoming round of base closings is an essential component of the effort to transform America’s military forces to meet the unique challenges of the 21st century. For American fighting forces to succeed in operating as new, lighter, more mobile units, the support forces must be equally transformed. BRAC is the means to achieve the basing infrastructure our military will need in the next decade and beyond.
Communities share ties with military bases that go beyond economic relationships. While the prospect of cutting those ties is unpleasant, these bases exist for the betterment of the country. As America’s enemies change, the military changes to counter the new threat. The goal of BRAC is a military that makes the world safer for Americans.
Overseas, Japan said it aimed to strike an accord with Washington on realigning US troops amid reports a deal may be impossible since Tokyo feels it is being asked to pay too much.
The plan drafted in October would see the pullout of 8,000 of the more than 40,000 US troops in Japan, easing the burden on the southern island chain of Okinawa which hosts half of the soldiers.............
