MAY, 2005: BASE CLOSINGS AND REALIGNMENTS ANNOUNCED

According to recent GovExec.com stories, more than 18,000 Defense Department civilians will see their jobs eliminated or contracted out as part of the Pentagon's recommendations for closing and realigning military bases. Defense proposed to move 133,769 military personnel and 84,801 civilians out of bases slated for closure. At the same time, 122,987 service members and 66,578 civilians would be shifted to bases slated to gain personnel.

"The 2005 base closing list, if adopted by the independent Base Realignment and Closure Commission, Congress and the president, will result total savings over 20 years of almost $49 billion, Pentagon officials said. Adding in changes from closing overseas bases and bringing troops back to the United States brings the total to $64.2 billion," says GovExec.com.

NUMBERS RECENTLY REPORTED:

• 33 major bases will be closed
• 22 bases will be realigned
• These moves will affect 133,769 military jobs and 84,801 civilian positions at hundreds of installations nationwide.
• Of those jobs, 122,987 military and 66,578 civilian will move to other bases
• 10,722 military jobs and 18,223 civilian jobs will be eliminated or turned over to private contractors.
• 2,818 additional contractors will be needed to assist with the changes.
• In Northern Virginia, 23,000 Defense jobs, including 15,754 civilian positions, will move to more secure space at military installations, including thousands to nearby military bases, among them Fort Belvoir, VA and Fort Meade, MD
• Fort Belvoir stands to gain 5,729 civilian jobs and Fort Meade will add 2,915 civilians.
• 40,000 Defense workers are in leased space that does not meet homeland security requirements.
• Civilians moving to Fort Belvoir will take spots now occupied by 816 civilian and 75 military personnel, who make up Army Materiel Command headquarters. The command is being relocated to Redstone Arsenal, AL.
• The Defense Finance and Accounting Service will be relocated and consolidated from more than 20 locations into three large facilites.
• Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, TX, with 2,491 civilians, will be closed and much of that work will go to other depot facilities, including Anniston Army Depot, AL, and Letterkenny Army Depot, PA
• The Navy will close Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, ME, where 4,032 civilians overhaul submarines, and move most of that work to its three remaining shipyards in Virginia, Hawaii and Washington.

OTHER CLOSINGS INCLUDE:

• Army's Communications and Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth, NJ - 4,652 civilians
• Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, VA - 1,948 civilians
• Army's Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington and building a joint health care facility in Bethesda, Md. - 2,357 civilians
• Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX - 1,268 civilians

SITUATION - DFAS REDUCTION AND CLOSINGS:

In another story published by GovExec.com, "The Defense Department has proposed a dramatic reduction of Defense Finance and Accounting Service facilities as part of its base realignment and closure recommendations."

DFAS processes payroll transactions, travel payments and health benefits funds for members of the military, civilian Defense employees, retirees and annuitants. The agency also manages foreign military sales and some commercial invoices.

• Closing 21 domestic DFAS facilities, reducing operations at two others and concentrating operations at military and federal facilities in Colorado, Indiana and Ohio.
• 43 percent of DFAS administrative space and 69 percent of warehouse space was not needed.

• Rock Island, IL
• Pensacola Saufley Field, FL
• Norfolk Naval Station, VA
• Lawton, OK
• Pensacola Naval Air Station, FL
• Omaha, NE
• Dayton, OH
• St. Louis, MO
• San Antonio, TX
• San Diego, CA
• Pacific Ford Island, HI
• Patuxent River, MD
• Limestone, ME
• Charleston, SC
• Orlando, FL
• Rome, NY
• Lexington, KY
• Kansas City, MO
• Seaside, CA
• San Bernadino, CA
• Oakland, CA

DFAS LOCATIONS REALIGNED:

• Arlington, VA, losing seven military and 401 civilian positions
• Cleveland, OH, losing 15 military and 1,013 civilian positions
• Defense Supply Center in Columbus, OH, + 1,758
• The Buckley Air Force Base Annex in Denver, CO, + 94 employees
• MG Emmett J. Bean Federal Center in Indianapolis, IN + 3,378 civilian, 114 uniformed and three contractors

Our Take on the Situation:
Get in there and listen to the contracting officers, end users and employees' pains. Help them cope with the transition by listening to their situation and responding with your products and services. Call your area base affected by this change and see if there is any way you can help them. Show them your expertise in transition management and close business.