Military

Fort McPherson / Fort Gillem

Both Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem are small in area, but they were giants in the defense picture due to the many headquarters and tenant organizations until the BRAC 2005 Commission recommended their closure. Forts McPherson and Gillem served and supported a number of "internal" audiences: Active Duty and Reserve Component soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, Department of Defense civilians, military retirees and family members. Both installations were good neighbors, U.S. Army Garrison, Fort McPherson, was named Atlanta's fifth largest employer by the Atlanta Business Chronical in March 1999. Fort Gillem in Forest Park is Clayton County's third largest employer according to the March 1999 Clayton County Chamber of Commerce survey.

Personnel assigned to Forts McPherson and Gillem are as follows: Active Duty, 3,510; Army Reserve, 2,359; Civilians, 5,038; Retirees, 29,430; Family Members, 36,843. In addition, from 4,500 to 5,000 local, state and international guests take tours of or book events at Forts McPherson and Gillem each year.

Fort McPherson, steeped in tradition and proud of its appearance and history, is a blend of the old and the new as it begins a second century of service to the nation. Fort McPherson is home to Forces Command (FORSCOM), U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC), and Third U.S. Army. Fort McPherson is located in Southwest Atlanta, approximately four miles from downtown Atlanta and eleven miles from Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. The installation sits on 487 acres; historic district sits on 33 acres and has 40 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fort McPherson was established in 1886 and became a permanent Army installation on May 4, 1889. On December 30, 1867, the post was named "McPherson Barracks" in honor of Major General James Birdseye McPherson, who was killed on July 22, 1864, during the Battle of Atlanta. Between the years 1867 and 1881, the barracks was garrisoned in turn by elements of the 2nd, 16th, and 18th U.S. Infantry Regiments and the 5th Artillery. Their mission was to enforce Union regulations during the reconstruction period following the Civil War. The installation sits on 487 acres; historic district sits on 33 acres and has 40 building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There are 39 segments of internal roads which have been designated in honor of distinguished military personnel; 23 from the Civil War, 11 from WWII, and two are named for distinguished General Officers. Throughout its century of service to the country, the 505-acre post was used as a general hospital during World Wars I and II, a prisoner of war camp, training for the Civilian Conservation Corp, and as a separation center. Today, Fort McPherson is home to Forces Command (FORSCOM), Third United States Army, and United States Army Reserve Command (USARC).

Fort McPherson is home to Forces Command Headquarters, Third U.S. Army, and U.S. Army Reserve Command. As the Army's largest major command, FORSCOM supervises the training of almost 800,000 Active, Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve soldiers to provide a strategic ground force capable of responding rapidly to crisis worldwide.

Third U.S. Army's principal mission as the Army component of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) is one of regional determent and the ability to deploy on short notice to its area of responsibility: 19 countries covering Southwest Asia, Northeast Africa, and the Persian Gulf. Functions as a Joint Forces Land Component Command (JFLCC) or Coalition Joint Task Force (C/JTF) when designated by Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command (USCINCENT). Executes Operational Control (OPCON) and Tactical Control (TACON) of forces operating within the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.

The U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC), a major subordinate command of U.S. Army Forces Command, commands, controls, and supports all Army Reserve troop units in the Continental United States with the exception of Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs units. The USARC also ensures the readiness of its forces and prepares the nearly 1,700 units under its command to mobilize and deploy to a wartime theater of operation.

Fort McPherson's nearest Army neighbor and sub-installation is Fort Gillem, located in nearby Forest Park. Fort Gillem is home station to First U.S. Army, U.S. Army Third Criminal Investigation Region, U.S. Army and Air Force Exchange Distribution Region and the U.S. Army Second Recruiting Brigade. Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem share common services and morale support activities, and host many other units and activities.

Fort Gillem, a 1,500-acre Military Camp, is a logistical support hub for Fort McPherson and is home to 51 tenants including organizations from the Active Component, Reserve Component, Georgia Army National Guard, and other Department of Defense and federal agencies. The fort houses the Army's Atlanta Distribution Center, the equipment concentration site #43 for the 81st Army Reserve Command, and the Army's CID Criminal Investigation Laboratory. A $216 million multi-phase capital investment program has been planned for the fort. It includes the expansion of the reserve center, the construction of a new crime investigation and forensics laboratory, and the location of a second recruitment brigade.

Fort Gillem was formerly known as the Atlanta Army Depot. For over fifty years, Fort Gillem has worked side by side with the surrounding Clayton County community. The relationship began in 1941 when the Atlanta General Depot moved its Candler Warehouse to what is now Fort Gillem. The depot saw many name changes as it served as trainer and supplier throughout World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Berlin Airlift, the Cuban Crisis and the Vietnam War. Thousands of soldiers trained at the installation's facilities, and tons of equipment destined for the war zones processed through the warehouse system. On June 18, 1973, responsibility for the installation was transferred from Army Materiel Command to U.S. Army Forces Command, renamed Fort Gillem and made a satellite installation of Fort McPherson. The name was selected in memory of Lieutenant General Alvan C. Gillem, Jr., who began his career as a private at Fort McPherson in 1910 and retired 40 years later as commanding general of Third U.S. Army, now headquartered at Fort McPherson.

The original purpose for Camp Jesup was to serve as a base for the general overhaul, reconstruction, and repair of motor vehicles. The camp also served as the site for the storage and issue of vehicles as well as motor transport supplies for all the camps in the Southeast. The general contract for the construction of Camp Jesup went to the Mackle Construction Company... on 19 January 1918, and shortly thereafter, work on building the camp actually began. However, due to the shortage of labor in construction work, ...German war prisoners were secured from the war prison barracks located at Fort McPherson. The prisoners were employed ...only on such work which allowed easy supervision by the military guard[s]. ...About one guard was furnished for every five prisoners, and the prisoners were paid 25 cents per day for their labor. ...Only one attempt was made to escape, and this was not successful. The structures built at Camp Jesup included dwellings, mess halls, camp headquarters, guardhouse, infirmary, laundry, fire station, post office, service club, canteen, theater, shops, and warehouses.

Quarters were made available to the military personnel on 15 April 1918. Before that date, they had been assigned to temporary quarters in the old training camp at Fort McPherson. The officers and enlisted men assigned to the camp came from other corps and units, and the Commanding Officer was Lt. Col. Edgar S. Stayer, Motor Transport Corps. During the first half of 1918, the enlisted strength at Camp Jesup increased greatly. Records show that a total of 1,495 enlisted men arrived during this period, and on 23 May 1918 alone, there were 552 new enlisted arrivals. Also in 1918, by General Order of the War Department, the Motor Transportation Corps was created and made a part of the Quartermaster. The Motor Transportation Corps controlled the motor commands and motor transport companies that were organized and trained at Camp Jesup as were several machine shop truck units.

Camp Jesup continued to rapidly expand, and reports of November 1919 show that the housing capacity for officers and enlisted men had reached a total of 2,100. During 1919, Camp Jesup was ordered to be retained permanently as a military reservation. During 1920, the camp was designated the Motor Transport School and later Motor Transport General Depot. The following year it was designated as Intermediate Depot, Quartermaster Corps (Remount).

In 1922, Camp Jesup ceased to function as the home of the 305th Motor Repair Unit, and it became a quartermaster intermediate depot for the storage of millions of dollars worth of war supplies turned-in from various camps and other army localities. During the period 1922-1926, Camp Jesup operated directly under the Quartermaster General, and in 1927, the camp came under the control of the Commanding General, IV Corps Area.

On 23 August 1927, the Camp Jesup Quartermaster Depot was discontinued, and its facilities and activities were consolidated with the post of Fort McPherson. The addition of Camp Jesup increased the size of the Fort McPherson reservation to approximately 373 acres of land. One of Camp Jesup's original buildings still stands today. Building 363, constructed in 1918, originally housed ordnance and maintenance shops known as Mechanical Shop 305. Today it is the headquarters building of Third U.S. Army/U.S. Army Forces Central command.

BRAC 2005

Ft. Gillem

Secretary of Defense Recommendations: Close Fort Gillem, GA. Relocate the Headquarters, 1st US Army to Rock Island Arsenal, IL. Relocate the 2nd Recruiting Brigade to Redstone Arsenal, AL. Relocate the 52nd Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group to Fort Campbell, KY. Relocate the 81st RRC Equipment Concentration Site to Fort Benning, GA. Relocate the 3rd US Army Headquarters support office to Shaw Air Force Base, SC. Relocate the Headquarters US Forces Command (FORSCOM) VIP Explosive Ordnance Support to Pope Air Force Base, NC. Close the Army- Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) Atlanta Distribution Center and establish an enclave for the Georgia Army National Guard, the remainder of the 81st RRC units and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Forensics Laboratory.

This recommendation would close Fort Gillem, an Army administrative installation and an AAFES distribution center. DoD estimated that its recommendation would enhance the Army's military value, would be consistent with the Army's Force Structure Plan, and would maintain adequate surge capabilities to address future unforeseen requirements. According to DoD, this closure would allow the Army to employ excess capacities at installations that could accomplish more than administrative missions.

DoD claimed that the closure of Fort Gillem also would enable the stationing of its tenant units at locations that would increase their ability to associate with like units and promote coordination of efforts. Both the 52nd EOD Group and the 2nd Recruiting Brigade have regional missions in the Southeastern United States. The 52nd EOD Group was co-located with operational forces at Fort Campbell to provide training opportunities. DoD recommended that the 2nd Recruiting Brigade relocate to Redstone Arsenal because of its central location in the Southeast and its access to a transportation center in Huntsville, AL. The Army would be converting the 1st US Army Headquarters into the single Headquarters for oversight of Reserve and National Guard mobilization and demobilization. To support this conversion the Army decided to relocate 1st Army to Rock Island Arsenal, a central location in the United States. The 81st RRC Equipment concentration Site would be relocated to Fort Benning where there are improved training opportunities with operational forces.

DoD estimated that the one-time cost to implement this recommendation would be $56.8M. The net of all costs and savings to the Department of Defense during the implementation period would be a savings of $85.5M. Annual recurring savings to the Department after implementation would be $35.3M with a payback expected in 1 year. DoD claim that the net present value of the costs and savings over 20 years would be a savings of $421.5M. DoD expected this recommendation to affect: the U.S. Post Office, FEMA, FAA, GSA and the Civil Air Patrol, non-DoD Federal agencies. In the absence of access to credible cost and savings information for these agencies or knowledge regarding whether these agencies would remain on the installation, DoD assumed that the non-DoD Federal agencies would be required to assume new base operating responsibilities on the affected installation. The Department further assumed that because of these new base operating responsibilities, the effect of the recommendation on the non-DoD agencies would be an increase in their costs. As required by Section 2913(d) of the BRAC statute, DoD had taken the effect on the costs of these agencies into account when making its recommendation.

Assuming no economic recovery, DoD estimated that this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 1,824 jobs (1,067 direct and 737 indirect jobs) over the 2006 - 2011 period in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA metropolitan statistical area, which is less than 0.1 percent of economic area employment. The aggregate economic impact of all recommended actions on this economic region of influence was considered and is at Appendix B of Volume I of DoD's BRAC recommendations.

Close Naval Air Station Atlanta, GA. Relocate its aircraft and necessary personnel, equipment and support to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, LA; Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, TX; and Robins Air Force Base, Robins, GA. Relocate Reserve Intelligence Area 14 to Fort Gillem, Forest Park, GA.

Secretary of Defense Justification: This recommendation closes Fort Gillem, an Army administrative installation and an AAFES distribution center. The recommendation moves the major tenant organizations to Rock Island Arsenal, Redstone Arsenal, Fort Benning, and Fort Campbell. It also moves small components of the Headquarters 3rd US Army and US Army Forces Command to Pope AFB and Shaw AFB. It enhances the Army's military value, is consistent with the Army's Force Structure Plan, and maintains adequate surge capabilities to address unforeseen future requirements. This closure allows the Army to employ excess capacities at installations that can accomplish more than administrative missions.

The closure of Fort Gillem also enables the stationing of its tenant units at locations that will increase their ability to associate with like units and promote coordination of efforts. Both the 52nd EOD Group and the 2nd Recruiting Brigade have regional missions in the Southeastern United States. The 52nd EOD Group was co-located with operational forces at Fort Campbell to provide training opportunities. The 2nd Recruiting Brigade is recommended to relocate to Redstone Arsenal because of its central location in the Southeast and its access to a transportation center in Huntsville, AL. The Army is converting the 1st US Army Headquarters into the single Headquarters for oversight of Reserve and National Guard mobilization and demobilization. To support this conversion the Army decided to relocate 1st Army to Rock Island Arsenal, a central location in the United States. The 81st RRC Equipment Concentration Site is relocated to Fort Benning, where there are improved training opportunities with operational forces.

This recommendation reduces excess capacity while maintaining reserve forces in regions with favorable demographics. The aviation assets will be located closer to their theater of operations and/or will result in increased maintenance efficiencies and operational synergies. Relocating Reserve Intelligence Area 14 to Fort Gillem** creates synergies with joint intelligence assets while maintaining the demographic base offered by the Atlanta area for this function.

Community Concerns: The community emphasized that Fort Gillem and Fort McPherson are linked. They asserted that DoD understated costs, producing projected savings which appear to be the primary basis for the closure decision. They indicated relocation of three major headquarters (1st Army, 2nd Recruiting Brigade and 52nd EOD Group) would adversely affect Reserve Component training readiness, homeland defense, and efficient command and control. They also held that relocation of 1st Army Headquarters would separate it from the many related capabilities offered by homeland security organizations and Reserve Components located at Fort Gillem. They argued that cost, command and control obstacles, loss of Reserve Component synergies, homeland defense coordination issues, and security challenges for enclaved organizations should persuade the Commission to vote against closure. The community indicated the economic impact will be great on Clayton County and the surrounding community which suffers from high unemployment rates and low per-capita income. The community states that the proposed enclave at Fort Gillem would create security challenges and fragment potential reuse, in addition to challenges of long-term contamination cleanup.

Commission Findings: The Commission's findings supported DoD's overall recommendation, although the Commission found that DoD failed to adequately define its planned enclave at Fort Gillem, contrary to its agreement with the findings of a 2003 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of prior BRAC enclaves. GAO recommended that the Secretary of Defense provide the 2005 BRAC Commission with data clearly specifying the infrastructure needed for any proposed enclaves and the estimated costs to operate and maintain such enclaves. The Commission found merit in community concerns about the adverse effect of multiple enclaves on reuse of the remainder of Fort Gillem, and therefore modified the DoD recommendation to require a contiguous enclave.

The Commission also found that units other than those explicitly stated in the approved recommendation, such as the Military Entrance Processing Station, may need to remain in the enclave, although the Commission strongly believes that the size of the enclave needs to be minimized to give the community maximum opportunities for reuse. The Commission found that the recommendation failed to address the Ammunition Supply Point, the only Army ASP in north Georgia supporting the Federal Transportation Security Administration, Army Reserves, and National Guard. The Commission was advised by the Department that the ASP was not part of the enclave recommendation and that disposition of the ASP will be determined during implementation. The Commission found that DoD designated Fort Gillem as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) mobilization site for the Southeast United States and that further determinations by FEMA and DoD are required during implementation. The Commission found DoD's economic impact analysis failed to consider significant loss of jobs associated with closing the Army and Air Force Exchange Service Atlanta Distribution Center. The Commission notes that Fort Gillem borders Forest Park, GA, an Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone and that the Garrison provides employment opportunities to a number of individuals with severe disabilities. The Commission strongly urges the Department to proactively work with the community to minimize these economic impacts.

Commission Recommendations: The Commission found that the Secretary of Defense deviated substantially from final selection criteria 7 and the force structure plan. Therefore, the Commission recommends the following:

Close Fort Gillem, GA. Relocate the Headquarters, 1st US Army to Rock Island Arsenal, IL. Relocate the 2d Recruiting Brigade to Redstone Arsenal, AL. Relocate the 52d Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group to Fort Campbell, KY. Relocate the 81st RRC Equipment Concentration Site to Fort Benning, GA. Relocate the 3d US Army Headquarters support office to Shaw Air Force Base, SC. Relocate the Headquarters US Forces Command (FORSCOM) VIP Explosive Ordnance Support to Pope Air Force Base, NC.

Close the Army-Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) Atlanta Distribution Center and establish a contiguous enclave for the Georgia Army National Guard, the remainder of the 81st RRC units and the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) Forensics Laboratory.

The Commission found this change and the recommendation as amended are consistent with the final selection criteria and the Force Structure Plan. The full text of this and all other recommendations can be found in Appendix Q.

DoD Community Infrastructure Assessment: DoD's review of community attributes revealed no significant issues regarding the ability of the infrastructures of the local communities to support missions, forces, and personnel. When moving from Fort Gillem to Rock Island Arsenal, DoD estimated that the following local area capabilitywould be improved: Cost of Living and Population. DoD estimated that the following capabilities would be less robust: Housing, Education, Employment, and Medical. When moving from Fort Gillem to Fort Campbell, DoD estimated that the following local attributes would be improved: Cost of Living and Population. DoD estimated that the following capabilities would not be not as robust: Housing, Education, Employment, Medical, Safety and Transportation. When moving from Fort Gillem to Redstone Arsenal, DoD estimated that the following local attributes would be improved: Cost of Living and Population. DoD estimated that the following capabilities would not be not as robust: Child Care, Housing, Medical, and Transportation. When moving from Fort Gillem to Fort Benning, DoD estimated that the following local capability would be improved: Population. DoD estimated that the following capabilities would not be as robust: Housing, Employment, Medical, and Safety. When moving from Fort Gillem to Pope AFB, DoD estimated that the following capabilities would be improved: Cost of Living and Population. DoD estimated that the following capabilities would not be as robust: Housing, Employment, Medical, Safety and Transportation. When moving from Fort Gillem to Shaw AFB, DoD estimated that the following local capabilities would be improved: Cost of Living and Population. DoD estimated that the following capabilities would not be as robust: Housing, Education, Medical, Transportation and Safety.

Closure of Fort Gillem would necessitate consultations with the State Historic Preservation Office to ensure that historic properties would continue to be protected. The closure of ranges at Fort Gillem would require clearance of munitions and remediation of any munition constituents. The remediation costs for these ranges could be significant and the time required for completing remediation would be uncertain. Groundwater and surface water resources would require restoration and/or monitoring to prevent further environmental impacts. This recommendation would require spending approximately $1.3M for environmental compliance costs. DoD included these costs in the payback calculation. According to DoD, Fort Gillem reported $18M in environmental restoration costs. Because DoD would have a legal obligation to perform environmental restoration regardless of whether an installation would be closed, realigned, or remained open, these costs were not included in the payback calculation.

DoD also recommended to close Naval Air Station Atlanta, GA. As a result, Fort Gillem would receive Atlanta's Reserve Intelligence Area 14. Relocating Reserve Intelligence Area 14 to Fort Gillem would create synergies with joint intelligence assets while maintaining the demographic base offered by the Atlanta area for this function.

** Earlier in the BRAC 2005 report, the Army closed Fort Gillem. It is unclear where Reserve Intelligence Area 14 from NAS Atlanta will be posted.

Ft. McPherson

Secretary of Defense Recommendation: In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to close Fort McPherson. It recommended the following unit relocations from Fort McPherson: the Headquarters US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), and the Headquarters US Army Reserve Command (USARC) would relocate to Pope Air Force Base, NC; the Headquarters 3rd US Army would move to Shaw Air Force Base, SC; the Installation Management Agency Southeastern Region Headquarters and the US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) Southeastern Region Headquarters would relocate to Fort Eustis, VA; the Army Contracting Agency Southern Region Headquarters would move to Fort Sam Houston.

Additional Recommendations: DoD claimed that its recommendation would enhance the Army's military value, would be consistent with the Army's Force Structure Plan, and would maintain adequate surge capabilities to address future unforeseen requirements. This closure would allow the Army to employ excess capacities at installations that could accomplish more than administrative missions. The organization relocations in this recommendation also would create multifunctional, multi-component and multi-Service installations that would provide a better level of service at a reduced cost. The recommended relocations also would retain or enhance vital linkages between the relocating organizations and other headquarters activities. FORSCOM HQs would be relocated to Pope AFB where it will be co-located with a large concentration of operational forces. The USARC HQs would have a mission relationship with FORSCOM that would be enhanced by leaving the two co-located. 3rd Army would relocate to Shaw AFB where it would be collocated with the Air Force component command of CENTCOM. The IMA and NETCOM HQs would move to Fort Eustis because of recommendations to consolidate the Northeastern and Southeastern regions of these two commands into one Eastern Region at Fort Eustis. The ACA Southern Region HQs would move to Fort Sam Houston where it would be recommended to consolidate with the ACA Southern Hemisphere Region HQs, and where it would co-locate with other Army service providing organizations.

DoD estimated that the total estimated one-time cost to implement this recommendation would be $197.8M. The net of all costs and savings to DoD during the implementation period would be a savings of $111.4M. Annual recurring savings to DoD after implementation would be $82.1M with a payback expected in 2 years. DoD caluclated that its net present value of the costs and savings over 20 years would be a savings of $895.2M.

This recommendation would affect the U.S. Post Office, a non-DoD Federal agency. In the absence of access to credible cost and savings information for that agency or knowledge regarding whether that agency would remain on the installation, the Department assumed that the non-DoD Federal agency would be required to assume new base operating responsibilities on the affected installation. The Department further assumed that because of these new base operating responsibilities, the effect of the recommendation on the non-DoD agency would be an increase in its costs. As required by Section 2913(d) of the BRAC statute, DoD had taken the effect on the costs of this agency into account when making this recommendation.

Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 7,123 jobs (4,303 direct and 2,820 indirect jobs) over the 2006 - 2011 period in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA metropolitan statistical area, which would be 0.3 percent of economic area employment. DoD considered the aggregate economic impact of all recommended actions on this economic region and located in Appendix B of Volume I of DoD's BRAC recommendations.

Secretary of Defense Justification: This recommendation closes Fort McPherson, an administrative installation, and moves the tenant headquarters organizations to Fort Sam Houston, Fort Eustis, Pope AFB and Shaw AFB. It enhances the Army's military value, is consistent with the Army's Force Structure Plan, and maintains adequate surge capabilities to address unforeseen future requirements. This closure allows the Army to employ excess capacities at installations that can accomplish more than administrative missions. The organization relocations in this recommendation also create multifunctional, multicomponent and multi-Service installations that provide a better level of service at a reduced cost.

The recommended relocations also retain or enhance vital linkages between the relocating organizations and other headquarters activities. FORSCOM HQs is relocated to Pope AFB where it will be co-located with a large concentration of operational forces. The USARC HQs has a mission relationship with FORSCOM that is enhanced by leaving the two colocated. 3rd Army is relocated to Shaw AFB where it will be collocated with the Air Force component command of CENTCOM. The IMA and NETCOM HQs are moved to Fort Eustis because of recommendations to consolidate the Northeastern and Southeastern regions of these two commands into one Eastern Region at Fort Eustis. The ACA Southern Region HQs is moved to Fort Sam Houston where it is recommended to consolidate with the ACA Southern Hemisphere Region HQs, and where it will co-locate with other Army service providing organizations.

Community Concerns: The community argued that cost was the overriding factor in DoD's decision to close this historic installation, and significant relocation costs were understated. The community maintained that the current co-location of three major Army headquarters (Forces Command, Reserve Command and Third Army) next to an international airport with unparallel access and point-to-point travel is an important synergy for training readiness and operational planning. Loss of a major military presence in the Atlanta metropolitan area would adversely affect the City of Atlanta, a terrorist target; hinder military recruitment of African Americans; reduce military support to the Department of homeland security; disadvantage a significant number of handicapped employees at Fort McPherson; and adversely affect surrounding communities already suffering high unemployment rates and low per-capita income. It was the community's judgment that Fort McPherson, Atlanta's seventh largest employer, is ideally located to take advantage of Atlanta's major transportation and information technology hubs which they believed will be necessary to meet future military and homeland security command and control challenges. The community maintained DoD substantially deviated from criteria 3 and 4 by dispersal of headquarters which limits command and control at additional cost; criterion 1 by dispersing critical synergy; and criterion 5 by understating costs.

Commission Findings: The Commission found that the cost to relocate the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) regional communications hub at Fort McPherson was not accounted for in DoD's analysis. Subsequent DoD certified data revealed relocation of the hub would cost $17.09M. Moreover, relocating Third Army Headquarters to Shaw Air Force Base could require more construction funding than anticipated. The Commission confirmed that Fort McPherson has a large number of historic facilities requiring maintenance and consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office. Fort McPherson Garrison supports an 85-acre recreational area at Lake Allatoona, GA, consisting of cabins, boating and outdoor activities, and the Commission found no plan for the disposition of this Morale, Welfare and Recreational Area. The Commission notes that Fort McPherson borders East Point, GA, a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone. The closure of Fort McPherson will have a negative economic impact on this already economically depressed, predominantly minority community, and because the Garrison provides employment opportunities to a large number of individuals with severe disabilities, the Commission strongly urges the Department to proactively work with the community to minimize these impacts. However, the Commission did not find these issues individually or collectively rose to the level of a substantial deviation.

Commission Recommendations: The Commission found the Secretary's recommendation consistent with the final selection criteria and force structure plan. Therefore, the Commission approved the recommendation of the Secretary.

DoD Community Infrastructure Assessment: When moving from Fort McPherson to Pope AFB, DoD estimated that the following local capability would be improved: Cost of Living. The following local area capabilities would not be as robust: Housing, Employment, Medical and Safety. When moving from Fort McPherson to Fort Eustis, DoD estimated that the following local capabilities would be improved: Cost of Living and Transportation. The following local area capabilities would not be as robust: Housing, Education, and Medical Health. When moving from Fort McPherson to Fort Sam Houston, DoD estimated that the following local capability would be improved: Cost of Living. The following local area capabilities would not be as robust: Employment, Medical and Safety. When moving from Fort McPherson to Shaw AFB, DoD estimated that the following local capability would be improved: Cost of Living. The following local area capabilities would not be as robust: Housing, Education, Medical and Safety.

DoD estimated that several environmental concerns would need to be addressed. Closure of Fort McPherson would necessitate consultations with the State Historic Preservation Office. Closure of operational ranges would likely necessitate clearance of munitions and remediation of any munition constituents. The remediation costs for these ranges might be significant and the time required for completing remediation would be uncertain. Fort McPherson had contaminated water resources that would require restoration and/or monitoring. This recommendation would require spending approximately $2.5M for environmental compliance activities. DoD included these costs in the payback calculation. Fort McPherson reported $129.7M in environmental restoration costs. Because the Department would have a legal obligation to perform environmental restoration regardless of whether an installation would be closed, realigned, or remain open, DoD did not include these costs in the payback calculation.