Closed Military Installations

[JohnRR]

RAF Station Wethersfield England Closed
Forbes AFB Kansas Closed
Hahn AFB Germany Closed
KI Sawyer AFB Michigan Closed
In Country does not count

[VanDiemen23]

BRAC was very simple. The huge defense drawdown at the end of the cold war and Desert Storm left DoD with a huge amount of excess real estate and the cost of maintaining all of that was cutting into modernization.


Congress put in place laws to prevent closing bases so they wouldn't lose jobs in their districts. Those laws remain in place today.


Congress and the military love process, and in the beginning, BRAC was a monstrous process with limited political interference. Perhaps the most remarkable interference was when Bill Clinton stepped in to stop the closing of a couple of air force bases around Sacramento. Not a bad idea, as the air force was trying to contract out too much of its maintenance - but the underlying reason was to maintain votes in California.


At the same time the Navy facility in Indianapolis got privatized, which was a hugely stupid thing for the Navy which went from having 2500 man-years/yr of excess capacity that could have been eliminated quickly in BRAC, or gradually lost thru attrition, to having a contractual obligation to maintain that workfoce in Indy while they were forced to pare jobs across the entire structure to compensate. (the admiral that presided over this deal went to work for the contractor). This obligation lasted for 10 years. But again, not a bad deal for Indy, which had lost nearly 30,000 jobs along a 5 mile stretch of Shadeland Avenue over the previous 15 years. That slide continues today.


In subsequent BRACs the communities and their congressmen learned how to cheat the system. In BRAC 05, one of the bases was to receive 2100 jobs from other closed facilities. They ended up with 10% of that, and some of the communities that were to close stayed viable by simply changing job titles on their personnel.


Over the years, the Navy did it the best. The Army and Air Force sort of blew it off and struggle with 25% excess capacity which is again draining the modernization budget. After the disaster that was BRAC 05 though, congress will not authorize another.

[George Schweikle]

You probably know that the trailer area at Chanute is now Prairie Pines Campground and owned by the city of Rantoul. The campground host (Marge?) has interesting stories about the mandatory shut down during a parachute / skydiving convention.

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Whether you liked them or hated them it's kind of sad to go back and see what they've become, places like Chanute, KI Sawyer, Forbes AFBs, Charleston Navy Yard and so many others from all of the services.

Exploring Chanute AFB (warning: lots of pics) | Page 5 | Adventure Rider

[ransil]

I was just in Hawaii for a reunion and visited the old NAS Barbers point, kinda been taken over by the state some of the place is fenced off for the national guard, still looks like when we turned off the lights back in 1998 unkept up in many places, still using the old military buildings, housing area was torn down ( was not that nice anyway)only thing new is the FBI building.

[okcnewbie]

Mine;

RAF Alconbury
Wurtsmith AFB, Oscoda MI.
Griffiss AFB, Rome NY

Hopefully the base I'm at now doesn't close.

[flywithcoop]

Retired at Norton AFB in 92. Wife worked there until it closed in 94. 10,000 jobs lost in San Bernardino area. San Berdo now bankrupt. I remember the California prison system would not take the barracks cause the rooms were too small for prisoner comfort!!!! AF gave base housing to local Indian tribe who has since bulldozed the entire housing area. Norton base proper now is a huge Grocery Store distribution center for Stater Bros grocery stores.

[flywithcoop]

I hated BRAC then I liked BRAC. Wife and I worked for DFAS in San Bernardino and BRAC closed it. DoD moved us to DFAS Columbus OH. Best move we ever made in over 60 years of combined DoD service. Sold home in SB, moved to OH and bought a home paid cash due to $$$$ made on home sale in SB at the height of the housing bubble. DoD paid for every expense we had and then some.

[69Stang]

RAF Upper Heyford, England
Keflavik Air Base, Iceland

If they close Moody AFB I'm hosed because they treat us Contractors like red headed step children.

[Acker1]

AF brat here. Spent most of my growing years (50's) at Chanute with a stay at Whethersfield, England for a couple of years. Go back every year to visit friends. Graduated grade school in Rantoul then to England, returned to Chanute and I graduated high school in Rantoul.

DICK

[ex-SubGuy]

RTC San Diego, CA - Closed
NTC Great Lakes, IL - Still operating
NPS Mare Island, CA - Closed
NPTU Idaho Falls, ID x 2 - Closed
Charleston Naval Station - Closed
Rota, Spain - Closed for Subs / Still Operating Air Station
Charleston Naval Shipyard x 3 - Closed
Kings Bay Sub Base - Still Operating
Bremerton Naval Shipyard - Still Operating
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - Still Operating

[PapaBobby]

In my brief Naval Reserve career I was stationed at The Naval Training Center in San Diego, CA. (closed). From there I was transferred to NAS Millington, TN (status unknown). NAS Moffett Field (closed) and finally NAS Alameda, CA (closed) until my discharge in 1981. Although I didn't appreciate it at the time, I have fond memories of and am disappointed when I see what NAS Alameda has become in its state of of sparse civilian use and abandoned buildings.

[JohnRR]

Originally Posted by PapaBobby

I was transferred to NAS Millington, TN (status unknown).

It's now in a very downsized installation but very well kept what's left of it and being spruced up every year we go back. It's mainly for Personal records.

The old trailer court is now a very nice campground.

The flight line and big hangar are now a civilian airport.

[texkayaker]

Stationed at Ft. Slocum, and Ft Totten, NY 1995 to 1958. Great duty, now both closed long ago. Am an so old now started out with OD dress uniform with brown shoes. Anyone else in the brown shoe army as we were called.

[Goofy1]

Missed the brown boots Texkayaker but still had the ODs.

On the flip side of this thread---I was the first enlisted assigned to Ft. Irwin when it was activated. It has grown to immense proportions now!