Posted by: In a previous post on Unleash the Monster, I discussed the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program, which calls for the closure of 33 military bases and either the growth or reduction of 29 more. I discussed what it was and how it was designed to accomplish a wide range of objectives, including saving the government money and making the military more flexible, agile and integrated. I then discussed the unfortunate side effects, the devastating effect that a base closure can have on the surrounding region’s workforce and economy.
In this post, I’m going to look at the flip side of the coin and analyze the impact of BRAC on those regions lucky enough to have their existing bases enlarged and given the jobs lost by those that were closed, and why that luck isn’t all good.
As we stated previously, unlike soldiers and military personnel, civilian government employees are not required to follow their jobs when the operation moves from a closing base to a distant military base. In fact, only about 20-30 percent of the employees will make the move. This means that 70-80 percent of the jobs coming into the new base must be filled, providing an excellent opportunity for the local workforce looking for employment. This also provides some interesting challenges.
Take Fort Knox for example, which is seeing 4,000-5,000 soldiers and civilians responsible for tank maintenance and repair sent to Fort Benning, GA and replaced with 20,000 Army Personnel Command jobs from Alexandria, VA. The skills and abilities of the tank mechanics are in no way compatible with the new jobs coming into the base, which creates a workforce of unemployed individuals who no longer have the requisite skills and abilities needed for the available jobs. Their current skill set is no longer applicable to the jobs available, leading to a significant need to retrain them in the skills that they need to reenter the job market.
Despite the net acquisition of close to 15,000 jobs, a large unemployed population will still result from the move. The need to retrain and educate these newly unemployed members of the regional workforce puts a strain on the local resources, but it’s not the only strain that is created by these relocating operations. The infrastructure of a local region can be put under significant strain when major operations from another military base relocate to a region.
In addition to the 20-30 percent of employees relocating to a region with their jobs, which can still be a very significant number of individuals, military bases tend to draw a crowd. In addition to military personnel and civilian employees coming into the region, government contractors who sell to that branch of the military want to be close by and tend to relocate as well. That’s a large population of people relocating into a region, and all of them are going to need to utilize the local infrastructure in their new region.
Military personnel, government contractors and civilian employees will require homes. They’ll require schools for their children. They’ll need doctors and hospitals for when they get sick. They’ll need stores to purchase products from. They’ll require restaurants where they can unwind and relax from their stressful jobs over a burger and a beer. They’ll need their trash removed, roads to drive on and gas stations to keep their cars running on those roads.
What we’re seeing is a significant opportunity for economic development, an increase in tax revenue and a decrease in unemployment, but also a challenge to train the individuals needed, and draw the businesses that these new citizens want to see in their town.
Even the growth of a base can lead to significant challenges due to a need to adjust to the population growth and presence of new job opportunities. Grant programs for businesses are needed to draw them into the region. Since every new job on the base will require an additional four-five support jobs, investments need to be made in education to train teachers and doctors and get the local workforce the skills and abilities needed to fill these new jobs.
BRAC has the potential to bring economic development and new jobs into a region, but not without a unique set of challenges to the local government. The influx of new jobs and citizens requires preparation and a significant investment in infrastructure and education. Although the benefits of an enlarging base are obvious, an unprepared region could find itself with an unprepared workforce, unhappy residents without the services and amenities they’ve come to expect and more problems then they’ve bargained for.
In an upcoming post, we’ll take a closer look at Fort Knox and other bases that are facing the challenge of a growing military base and net increase in jobs, and the steps they are taking to prepare.
Thu, Mar 18, 2010
State & Local