Posted by: In today’s market, jobs and careers are constantly in flux. Careers can turn on two-week’s notice, or be outsourced to remote locations based on the whims of management. However, when your boss is the United States Government, you expect to avoid the many vagaries of the economic crisis and bottom-line management.
Unfortunately, thanks to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), government employees are now feeling the same upheavals that are being felt in the private sector.
In 2005, Congress established the 2005 BRAC Commission to, as they claim on the website, “ensure the integrity of the base closure and realignment process”. After a lengthy review process, using “objective, non-partisan, and independent” reviews, it was decided to close Ft. Monmouth (based in Monmouth County, NJ) and move the base to Aberdeen, Maryland. The decision, based on the cost-saving logic of the Commission and government, has been disruptive to say the least.
At work, I hear countless conversations around cubical walls about school systems, housing, colleges, and forced retirements. I also hear conversations about the BRAC process itself, and whether or not all the facts were given to the Commission before the final decision was made. It is not my place to judge the integrity of the process. However, I am keenly aware of the results, and how the decision has affected the lives of thousands of employees at Ft Monmouth.
BRAC is forcing many decisions to be made by both newer employees and those close to retirement. Some are going to move to Maryland and make the best of the situation. Others want to stay in New Jersey regardless of the circumstances and are trying to get jobs either at other government installations (McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, a new super base), or in the private sector.
It’s especially difficult and raises many questions for employees with families and children in school. When do they move? Should they move in the middle of the year, or move in the summer time so their kids can start the year at a new school?
Other conflicts have come up for employees with older parents that may have health issues. If they have an ailing parent or grandparent that needs care, does this person move with them? Do they move in with together? These are issues that employees all over Fort Monmouth are struggling with.
For myself, the questions are fewer and less severe, and the options seem to be greater. I have no children in school and have no house to worry about selling. Nor am I close to retirement. In addition, I am young enough (28) to not see moving as a traumatic experience but rather an opportunity.
Given these factors, I should feel more comfortable with the move than many others. However, I have my reservations having lived in New Jersey my whole life and appreciating the abundance that the state offers, including its beaches and proximity to New York City and Philadelphia. There’s no question that Aberdeen, being relatively close to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, is a great place to live, but it’s hard to replicate all that New Jersey has to offer.
At the end of the day, it’s reassuring that I have a job in this economy, even if means moving out of state. Unfortunately, not everyone has the flexibility I do, and their futures are much less certain. I’m proud to be a public servant and glad to be gainfully employed…but I’ll miss my home.
Andrew Stevens is a Data Specialist for the Army, based out of Fort Monmouth
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