Expert Opinion on the Department of Defense Base Closure/Realignment Policy andProcess: An Assessment of the Four Military Value Criteria

摘要

This research addressed the problem of an assessment, from an Air Forceperspective, of the effectiveness of the four criteria measuring military value associated with the 1991 Base Closure/Realignment Commission. The Department of Defense had determined military value to be 'preeminent' among all other considerations in reducing the size of the military basing structure, based on a reduction of the perceived military threat. A literature review was conducted to review the works of previous authors who addressed the research problem. The literature review focused on the processes of the 1988 and 1991 Closure/Realignment Commissions. During phase two of the methodology, the researcher administered two Delphi questionnaires by mail to 12 Air Force expert panel members. The researcher then conducted an analysis of the panel members' questionnaire responses in relation to the data gained during the literature review. The panel members achieved a consensus of agreement that implementing 27 base closure criteria recommendations would result in a more effective measure of military value. The study concluded with several recommendations to improve the effectiveness of measuring military value. Foremost among the recommendations was that the Air Force consider the 27 criteria improvement recommendations.