There's No Turning Back

Our comments assume the South Central Logistics Center is a Defense Department installation operating under current rules.

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission was a recommendation-making body created by the nation's board of directors--the President and Congress. The commission was created to assist members of the executive and legislative branches in a decision that has proven to be as difficult as any national challenge American leaders have faced: whether to close a military installation.

As Devine prepares to meet what may be his most difficult professional challenge, he must first bear in mind that implementing approved BRAC recommendations is fundamentally the same as any other assignment in his public service career. His assignment is to execute the decisions of the President and Congress. His department leaders have already approved the BRAC recommendations and expect his full support in carrying them out. His department understands that closure will permanently affect the lives of all of the depot workers. On the other hand, the move is being made for projected economies and efficiencies deemed to be in the national interest.

There is precedence in this seeming incongruity in which an organization has accomplished great strides, only to find itself downsized or eliminated in a greater wave of efficiency. The Sacramento Army Depot had just won the Management Achievement Award in the prestigious President's Quality Award competition when it was closed in a greater move to consolidate and save both jobs and dollars. The Red River Army Depot, a later winner of the Quality Improvement Prototype Award, was significantly downsized with numerous functions being transferred to other activities.

The important points in these examples are that the leadership had embraced the principles and techniques of quality management and made some dramatic changes in quality and productivity. The resulting improvements proved that a government organization could be reinvented to adopt a business posture. Those kinds of achievements must go on in all government organizations in order to remain competitive in a world of technological advances and rapidly improving administrative and logistical doctrine.

The facts presented in the article about Congress are only red herrings. It is true that there is a loose caucus of members who try hard not to lose government establishments in their districts. However, the decision was driven by Congress and agreed to by the government. Wiggle room is not a viable option and will only raise false hopes. Devine must assemble the workforce, as soon as authorized, and inform workers of the decision, the rationale and their future opportunities. Most important, he must express his and the government's commitment to doing everything possible to secure them continued employment within or outside the government.

Devine's major task, and the most difficult one, is to develop the plans for the workforce and conduct the downsizing so that everyone wins. Several senior leaders will be disappointed. They will not be eager to move, but will do so when provided an assignment that rewards their achievements and recognizes their potential. The recruiting department must be converted to an outplacement department, and employment found for every employee. If no recruiting department exists, then one must be developed or contracted.

Employees must be interviewed and counseled. Some retraining or new training will be needed and should be provided. These efforts may well continue long after the depot closes. Indeed, they must continue until every employee is outplaced.

The government has adopted the best practices of civilian industry in managing base closures. For example, federal officials studied and adopted the successful techniques in the closure of Dana Corp.'s plant in Tennessee in the early 1990s. Dana turned its recruiters into outplacement specialists, and within 18 months they had found every employee a job. Dana Corp. was the major industry in the town before the plant closed. The company is still revered for the way it modernized. BRAC statistics show that military departments have enjoyed success with every base closure and realignment in the nation.

We are personally surprised at the lack of timely knowledge of the decision. These moves are planned several months prior to the execution. Time is available for the workforce to fully understand and adjust to the change. We are certain that aggressive, talented leaders such as Devine are capable of carrying out the changes. Devine and his senior leaders may be personally disappointed at the closure, but they are certainly proud of their efforts to improve their organization. Their talent now belongs at the new installation where they can modernize the entire logistics system

Base realignment and closure is not over. The entire logistics system is being realigned, and outmoded practices of the 1980s and 1990s will not be able to support a rapidly deploying force moving to the corners of the globe on diverse contingencies. BRAC accompanies the modernization of our forces to ensure their success.

Bob Elton, a retired Army lieutenant general, is chief executive officer and founder of MTL Services International Inc., a Fairfax, Va., management and consulting firm. As deputy chief of staff for personnel, he managed the Army's human resource development programs.

Richard E. Minnis is a retired senior executive whose experience included a partial base closing. He was director of operations at a major Army installation, which received the service's first President's Quality Award.