Fort Monmouth - Closure By BRAC

Closure By BRAC

Fort Monmouth was recommended for closure by the Pentagon in May 2005. BRAC voted in August 2005 to close the post; its decision was upheld by President George Bush and Congress. An appeal headed by U.S. Representatives Frank Pallone and Rush D. Holt, Jr. to remove the post from the list was made to the BRAC commission, but was rejected.

In particular, BRAC recommended:

• Relocate the US Army Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS) to West Point, NY.

• Relocate the Joint Network Management System (JNMS) program, part of the Product Management Office for Network Operations - Current Force (PM NetOps-CF) to Fort Meade, MD. The Joint Network Management System (JNMS) program was cancelled by the Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) prior to scheduled relocation of the program to Ft. Meade.

• Relocate the Budget/Funding, Contracting, Cataloging, Requisition Processing, Customer Services, Item Management, Stock Control, Weapon System Secondary Item Support, Requirements Determination, Integrated Materiel Management Technical Support Inventory Control Point functions for Consumable Items to Defense Supply Center Columbus, OH, and reestablish them as Defense Logistics Agency Inventory Control Point functions.

• Relocate the procurement management and related support functions for depot level repairables to Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), MD, and designate them as Inventory Control Point functions, detachment of Defense Supply Center, Columbus, OH, and

• Relocate the remaining integrated materiel management, user, and related support functions to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, along with Information Systems, Sensors, Electronic Warfare, and Electronics Research and Development & Acquisition (RDA).

• Relocate the elements of the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) and consolidate into the existing PEO EIS facilities at Fort Belvoir, VA.

The DoD estimated the closure of Fort Monmouth would cause the loss of 9,737 jobs (5,272 direct and 4,465 indirect jobs) between 2006 and 2011, leading to a 0.8% increase in unemployment. DoD also calculated the closure and other changes would save it about $1 billion in the long run.

However, in June 2007, an investigation by the Asbury Park Press revealed that the projected cost of closing Fort Monmouth and moving its research functions to Aberdeen, Maryland, had doubled from $780 million to $1.5 billion. Add to that the $3.3 billion loss to New Jersey’s economy coupled with the estimated $16 billion it will cost Maryland for needed infrastructure improvements to accommodate the largest job influx since World War II. In addition, recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) findings have uncovered substantial errors in the Army estimation of BRAC cost savings—in one case turning a projected $1 billion savings into a $31 million savings. In light of these issues, the House Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the BRAC 2005 legislation.

• Final closure ceremony held on September 15, 2011