Military Bases: An Analysis of the Commission's Realignment and Closure Recommendations
NSIAD-90-42
Published: Nov 29, 1989. Publicly Released: Nov 29, 1989.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure's methodology, findings, and recommendations for realigning or closing military installations.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | If the Secretary should establish another commission or internal study group to evaluate base realignments or closures, the Secretary should direct that the process include an internal control plan designed to ensure the accuracy of the data collection and analysis processes. At a minimum, the plan should include the following: (1) uniform guidance defining data requirements and sources; (2) procedures requiring activities participating in the study to certify the accuracy of the data they provide; (3) procedures to check the accuracy of the analyses made from the data provided by the participating activities; and (4) procedures for independently testing the effectiveness of the controls used by the participating activities and overall study group. |
Closed – Not Implemented
The Department of Defense (DOD) concurs with the recommendation and stated that, should a similar body be formed again, it will issue substantive guidelines to the Commission and provide the GAO report to the Commission staff for their use in developing their process and internal control plans.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that any future base realignment and closure initiatives allow time for sufficient study. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD agrees that any future base realignment and closure initiatives must allow time for sufficient study.
|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should ensure that any future base realignment and closure initiatives develop and include cost estimates for all cost factors that are a consequence of base realignment and closure recommendations. These factors would include hazardous waste cleanup or management and medicare costs. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD agrees that any future base realignment and closure initiative should include cost estimates for all relevant costs. However, it stated that environmental cleanup and Medicare costs are not costs of closure and, therefore, should not be included in payback calculations.
|
| Department of Defense | Because of the significant cost and savings associated with the base realignment and closure program, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretaries of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to conduct annual reviews of their services' base realignment and closure implementation programs and formally report the results to him. |
Closed – Implemented
The DOD Comptroller issued detailed guidelines to the services to calculate and report all costs and savings associated with the base realignment and closure program. The Assistant Secretary of Defense issued additional guidance covering operating policy and process responsibility for base closure program management. Internal reporting of base closure account budget execution will be quarterly.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should recognize that the need for a management control plan to ensure the accuracy of data collection and analysis is equally applicable to the costs and savings development phase of any future study. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD concurs with the recommendation and stated that, should a similar body be formed again, it will issue substantive guidelines to the Commission and provide GAO's report to the Commission staff for developing their process and internal control plans.
|
| Department of Defense | In future base realignment and closure studies, the Secretary of Defense should: (1) specify the criteria that are to be used in evaluating economic impact, including the impact area; (2) consider the feasibility of using techniques that can measure direct as well as indirect job losses; and (3) provide sufficient time for developing and considering estimates of economic impact costs where possible, including the impact on overall federal budget. |
Closed – Not Implemented
DOD stated that lessons have been learned on how to improve economic impact analyses. And, should another Commission be established, it will provide the GAO report to the Commission for their consideration when establishing their procedures.
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Topics
Base closuresBase realignmentsCost effectiveness analysisErrorsEvaluation methodsFederal advisory bodiesFuture budget projectionsMilitary basesMilitary cost controlStatistical methodsEnvironmental cleanups