Military

Fort George G. Meade

Located almost midway between the cities of Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Fort Meade is home to approximately 10,000 military personnel along with about 25,800 civilian employees. Nearly 6,000 family members reside on post. It lies approximately four miles east of Interstate 95 and one-half mile east of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, between Maryland State routes 175 and 198. Fort Meade is located near the communities of Odenton, Laurel, Columbia and Jessup.

Fort Meade's mission is to provide a wide range of support to more than 78 partner organizations from all four services and to several federal agencies. Major tenant units include the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Information School, the Defense Courier Service the U.S. Army Field Band, the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, First U.S. Army (East), the Naval Security Group Activity, the 694th Intelligence Group (U.S. Air Force) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center.

Fort Meade is virtually a city in itself. It consists of 5,415 acres with 65.5 miles of paved roads, 3.3 miles of secondary roads, and about 1,300 buildings. There is a modern exchange mall, bank, credit union, post office, chapels and many other facilities.

Fort George G. Meade became an Army installation in 1917. Authorized by Act of Congress in May 1917, it was one of 16 cantonments built for troops drafted for the war with the Central Powers in Europe. The present Maryland site was selected on June 23, 1917. Actual construction began in July. The first contingent of troops arrived here that September.

The post was originally named Camp Meade for Major General George Gordon Meade, whose defensive strategy at the Battle of Gettysburg proved a major factor in turning the tide of the Civil War in favor of the North. During World War I, more than 100,000 men passed through Fort Meade, a training site for three infantry divisions, three training battalions and one depot brigade. In 1928, when the post was renamed Fort Leonard Wood, Pennsylvanians registered such a large protest that the installation was permanently named Fort George G. Meade on March 5, 1929. This action was largely the result of a rider attached to the Regular Army Appropriation Act by a member of the House of Representatives from the Keystone State.

Fort Meade became a training center during World War II, its ranges and other facilities used by more than 200 units and approximately 3,500,000 men between 1942 and 1946. The wartime peak-military personnel figure at Fort Meade was reached in March, 1945--70,000. With the conclusion of World War II, Fort Meade reverted to routine peacetime activities, but was later to return to build-up status. Many crises, including Korea, West Berlin and Cuba, along with Vietnam-related problems, were to come.

One key post-World War II event at Fort Meade was the transfer from Baltimore, on June 15, 1947, of the Second U.S. Army Headquarters. This transfer brought an acceleration of post activity, because Second Army Headquarters exercised command over Army units throughout a then seven-state area.

A second important development occurred on January 1, 1966, when the Second U.S. Army merged with the First U.S. Army. The consolidated headquarters moved from Fort Jay, N.Y. to Fort Meade to administer activities of Army installations in a 15-state area.

In August 1990, Fort Meade began processing Army Reserve and National Guard units from several states for the presidential call-up in support of Operation Desert Shield. In addition to processing reserve and guard units, Fort Meade sent two of its own active duty units--the 85th Medical Battalion and the 519th Military Police Battalion--to Saudi Arabia. In all, approximately 2,700 personnel from 42 units deployed from Fort Meade during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

Today, Fort Meade provides support and services for more than 50 tenant units which include the Defense Information School, Headquarters, the U.S. Army Field Band, and the National Security Agency

Fort George G. Meade has a total of 2,862 sets of quarters, of which 488 are allocated to officers and 2,374 to enlisted personnel. These quarters are located in five major housing areas on post. These areas are now designated as Argonne Hills, Meade Heights, Geraghty Village, MacArthur Manor, and Shea Court. Argonne Hills (7000-8135) consists of single, double, and multiple family units, and provides housing for both officer and enlisted personnel. Old Meade Heights is composed of 250 housing units in two-story apartment buildings, with two to four bedroom apartments. Newly constructed housing (1995-1996) for junior enlisted personnel consists of 115 housing units in New Meade Heights (1800-1900) and 147 housing units at the Clark Road Site (3300-3400). The units are in two-story apartment buildings with two, three and four bedrooms. Geraghty Village (2682-2694) is composed of multi-dwelling three bedroom quarters and provides housing for company grade officer personnel. MacArthur Manor (2901-3564) is composed of multi-dwelling quarters and provides housing for officer and enlisted personnel. Shea Court, located in the 4800 area, is composed of multi-dwelling quarters consisting of two and four bedroom units designated as officer housing for four bedroom and two bedroom for junior enlisted personnel. The 2500 and 4200 areas are composed of single family Cape Cod houses. They are designated for enlisted personnel in the grade of E9. The 4300 and 4500 areas are designated for general and flag officers, colonels, and Navy captains.

Fort George G. Meade is an administrative installation supporting the missions of over 114 tenants representing a wide variety of training, intelligence, and educational programs. Following BRAC actions, Fort Meade has an increased mission as a major federal administrative center and has the need to accommodate additional tenants and activities.

The closing of Fort Holabird, Md., due to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) act of 1990, led to a "success story" - the erection of a building that houses the Defense Security Service Personnel Investigations Center. The $8.3 million brick facility is located near Mapes Road at 10th Street and Chisholm Avenue. The Personnel Investigations Center had previously been a tenant at Fort Holabird in the Baltimore/Dundalk area. The new building stands in stark contrast to the facility used at Fort Holabird, which was built in the 1940s as a testing facility for the Army jeep. Sarbanes termed the Fort Holabird facility "substandard" and Mikulski called it "crowded" and "decrepit." Since 1996, DSS has been temporarily housed in a leased facility at Airport Square in Linthicum, Md.

Under Fort Meade's Real Property Master Plan (RPMP) for the Years 2000-2004, the planned projects which will occur during this time include the following: construction of new facilities that will consolidate tenants from dilapidated World War II structures and off post leased facilities into more cost efficient and effective facilities, demolition and construction of barracks and mess halls and providing on post development opportunities for tenants on installations that are currently faced with Base Realignment and Closure. The Fort Meade RPMP has the potential to significantly impact certain natural, economic, social and cultural resources of the Fort Meade community. The objective is to prepare a comprehensive EIS which will serve as a planning tool, a public information source and a reference for mitigation tracking. Alternatives may consist of alternate locations for specific projects, partial implementation of the specific project or modifications to the specific project.

Within Fort Meade's boundaries lie numerous historic and prehistoric sites that were identified through the Cultural Resources Management Plan. Fort Meade also maintains historically significant structures which are eligible for inclusion on the National Register and may be directly affected by the actions proposed in the long range Master Plan. Equally important is the impact Fort Meade has on the Chesapeake Bay and the crucial role it plays in maintaining and protecting which is considered one of the world's most diverse ecosystems. Fort Meade is also home to eleven State Endangered Species, including the Glassy Darter which is one of only two locations in the State of Maryland where the fish is known to exist.

To address traffic impacts, Fort Meade is considering encouraging the use of alternative transportation (e.g. carpooling and flextime), although major rail or bus lines do not currently service the installation. In addition, the construction of the State Route 198 by-pass onto Fort Meade via the former Tipton Army Airfield by the Maryland State Highway Administration is designed to limit the through traffic at Fort Meade to those who reside, work or visit the installation for recreation or other purposes. This is expected to reduce congestion at the intersection of State Routes 198 and 32.

BRAC 2005

Secretary of Defense Recommendations: In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended that the Joint Network Management System Program Office move from Ft. Monmouth, which it recommended for closure, to Fort Meade, MD. Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential increase of 9,834 jobs (5,042 direct and 4,792 indirect jobs) over the 2006 – 2011 periods in the Baltimore-Towson, MD Metropolitan Division (0.6 percent). When moving from Fort Monmouth to Fort Meade, DoD estimated that the following local area capabilities would improve: Cost of Living and Medical Health. The following attributes would decline: Education and Safety.

In another Recommendation, DoD recommended to close 5600 Columbia Pike and Skyline Place (Skyline VII), leased installations in Falls Church, VA, and 1010 Gause Boulevard, a leased installation in Slidell, LA. These closures would resulte in the relocation of all components of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to Fort Meade, MD. It would also close the Logicon Building, a leased installation in Arlington, Virginia. Relocate the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operation (JTF-GNO) to Fort Meade, MD. DoD would also realign Skyline IV and Skyline V, leased installations in Falls Church, VA, and GSA Franconia Warehouse Depot, a leased installation in Springfield, VA, by relocating all components of DISA to Fort Meade, MD; realign Arlington Service Center, VA, by relocating all components of DISA and the JTF-GNO to Fort Meade; realign Naval Support Activity Panama City, Florida by relocating the Deployable Joint Command and Control (DJC2) Program Office of the Naval Surface Warfare Center to Fort Meade, MD. DoD would also realign Rosslyn Plaza North, a leased location in Arlington, VA, by relocating the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Program Office to Fort Meade.

This recommendation would consolidate headquarters components of DISA and the JTF-GNO, a related organization with a dual-hatted command and shared facilities, at Fort Meade. This recommendation would also realign the scattered Combatant Commander Development and Acquisition activities, of which certain DISA components were a part, into a single activity at Fort Meade. These DISA components included Global Information Grid-Bandwidth Expansion (GIG-BE), Global Command and Control System (GCCS), Network Centric Enterprise Services (NCES), and Teleport Program Offices. This realignment would provide for the delivery of integrated, interoperable C4ISR systems to the warfighters with increased efficiency at less cost. This recommendation would meet several important Department of Defense objectives with regard to future use of leased space, rationalizing the presence of DoD Activities within the National Capital Region (NCR), consolidation of Headquarters operations at single locations, an enhanced security for DoD Activities. The relocation of a DOD Agency headquarters to a military installation that would be outside of the NCR would provide dispersion of DoD Activities away from a dense concentration within the NCR. This, plus the immediate benefit of enhanced Force Protection afforded by a location within a military installation fence-line, would provide immediate compliance with Force Protection Standards. DISA's current leased locations were not compliant with current Force Protection Standards. This action would provide a consolidation for DISA's headquarters reducing the number of buildings from eight to two.

The total estimated one-time cost to the Department of Defense to implement this recommendation would be $220.0M. The net of all costs and savings to the Department during the implementation period would be a cost of $102.1M. Annual recurring savings to the Department after implementation would be $59.4M, with a payback expected in 2 years. The net present value of the costs and savings to the Department over 20 years would be a savings of $491.2M. Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 6,880 jobs (4,026 direct jobs and 2,854 indirect jobs) over the 2006-2011 time period in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MDWV Metropolitan Division economic area (0.3 percent). While the community surrounding Fort Meade had a lack of accredited childcare facilities, the Department anticipated that the private sector would respond to any increased demand for such. Environmentally, added operations would require New Source Review permitting and air conformity analysis at Fort Meade. Additional operations might impact cultural/archeological sites at Fort Meade and might further impact sensitive habitats leading to additional restrictions on training or operations. This recommendation will require spending approximately $0.4M for environmental compliance activities.

In another recommendation DoD would close 21820 Burbank Boulevard, a leased installation in Woodland Hills, CA. Relocate all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Western Hearing Office to Fort Meade, MD. Close 800 Elkridge Landing Road, a leased installation in Linthicum, MD. Relocate all components of the National Security Agency Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD. Realign 2780 Airport Drive, a leased installation in Columbus, OH, by relocating all components of the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office and the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Personal Security Division to Fort Meade, MD. Realign 1777 N. Kent Street, a leased installation in Arlington, VA, by relocating all components of the Washington Headquarters Service Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD. Realign 875 N. Randolph Street, a leased installation in Arlington, VA, by relocating all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Headquarters to Fort Meade, MD. Realign 10050 North 25th Avenue, a leased installation in Phoenix, AZ, by relocating all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Arizona office to Fort Meade, MD. Realign the Washington Navy Yard Washington, DC, by relocating all components of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD. Realign Bolling Air Force Base Washington, DC, by relocating all components of the Air Force Central Adjudication Facility and the Defense Intelligence Agency Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD. Realign the Pentagon, Washington, DC, by relocating all components of the Joint Staff Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD. Realign the US Army Soldiers Systems Center Garrison, Natick, MA, by relocating all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Boston Hearing office to Fort Meade, MD.

Secretary of Defense Justification This recommendation collocates all Military Department (MILDEP) and Department of Defense (DoD) security clearance adjudication and appeals activities at Fort Meade, MD. It meets several important DoD objectives with regard to future use of leased space, enhanced security for DoD activities, and collocates National Capital Area intelligence community activities. It also enables the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Act of 2004, the Administration's counterintelligence strategy, and the Remodeling Defense Intelligence initiative. Additionally, this recommendation results in a significant improvement in military value due to a shift from predominately-leased space to a location on a military installation. The military value of adjudication activities current portfolio of locations ranges from 152-280 out of 334 entities evaluated by the Major Administration and Headquarters (MAH) military value model. Fort Meade, MD, ranks 94 out of 334.

Implementation will reduce the Department's reliance on leased space, which has historically higher overall costs than government-owned space and generally does not meet Anti-terrorism Force Protection standards as prescribed in UFC 04-010-01. The benefit of enhanced Force Protection afforded by a location within a military installation fence-line will provide immediate compliance with Force Protection Standards. MILDEP and Defense adjudication activities located currently at leased locations are not compliant with current Force Protection Standards. This recommendation eliminates 136,930 gross square feet of leased administrative space. This action provides a collocation of these activities, and reduces the number of locations from 13 to one.

Community Concerns: Community leaders questioned DoD's security standards, stating they were unnecessarily more stringent than those developed by the Interagency Security Committee (tasked with developing and evaluating security standards for Federal facilities.) Also, the communities questioned whether DoD had surveyed each facility to determine compliance and the level of compliance with the DoD security standards (or even those "less stringent" standards approved by OMB in September 2004.) The communities felt BRAC was not the proper instrument to effect DoD employee relocation from leased facilities.

Advocates expressed concerns about the negative impact on operational readiness and manpower implications. They argued the current "scattered" arrangement of leased office space makes more strategic sense than does concentration, that relocation will disrupt synergies with other agencies of the Federal Government and the Pentagon, and, finally, that leased space is better able to accommodate contingency, mobilization, surge, and future total force requirements than its alternative, military construction. Similarly, communities claimed their quality of life could be reduced because of transportation problems such as increased traffic, lack of public transportation, and increased commuting times, with the attendant issues of air pollution and increased fuel consumption.

In addition to the generalized comments above, the community expressed specific concerns that Anne Arundel County would be unable to handle the influx of jobs into Fort Meade because of a lack of mass transit, inadequate roads and schools, the poor military housing at Fort Meade, and paucity of safe housing in the surrounding community. The affected communities argued that moving the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) onto a military installation would make it inordinately difficult for people to have their cases heard and that the cost in terms of reduced accessibility far outweighs the benefits of the proposed consolidation. They asserted consolidation would result in exorbitant, a ditional travel-related expenses for employees and hearing participants and would increase the case backlog.

Commission Findings The Commission found no reason to disagree with the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense. However, the Commission's review and analysis discovered that the National Security Agency's Adjudication Office is only a part of a larger NSA presence at 800 Elkridge Landing Road in Linthicum, MD, so the recommendation has been amended to realign rather than close that address.

The Commission acknowledges the community's concerns about employee commuting but understands that the local governments involved are planning surface transportation improvements near the Fort Meade area. Additionally, the Commission acknowledges that moving the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) onto a military installation could make it difficult for people to have their cases heard but expects the impact on individuals served by DOHA to be minimal because hearing examiners (administrative judges) travel to the hearing site on most occasions.

Commission Recomendations The Commission found that the Secretary of Defense deviated substantially from final selection criteria 1 and 7 and from the Force Structure Plan.

Therefore, the Commission recommends the following: Close 21820 Burbank Boulevard, a leased installation in Woodland Hills, CA. Relocate all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Western Hearing Office to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign 800 Elkridge Landing Road, a leased installation in Linthicum, MD. Relocate all components of the National Security Agency Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign 2780 Airport Drive, a leased installation in Columbus, OH, by relocating all components of the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office and the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Personal Security Division to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign 1777 N. Kent Street, a leased installation in Arlington, VA, by relocating all components of the Washington Headquarters Service Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign 875 N. Randolph Street, a leased installation in Arlington, VA, by relocating all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Headquarters to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign 10050 North 25th Avenue, a leased installation in Phoenix, AZ, by relocating all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Arizona office to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign the Washington Navy Yard, DC, by relocating all components of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility Fort Meade, MD.

Realign Bolling Air Force Base, DC, by relocating all components of the Air Force Central Adjudication Facility and the Defense Intelligence Agency Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign the Pentagon, Washington, DC, by relocating all components of the Joint Staff Central Adjudication Facility to Fort Meade, MD.

Realign the US Army Soldiers Systems Center Garrison, Natick, MA, by relocating all components of the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals Boston Hearing office to Fort Meade, MD.

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 Commission recommendations can be found in Appendix Q.