Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce expenditures on operations and maintenance, aimed at achieving increased efficiency in line with Congressional and DoD objectives. More than 350 installations have been closed in four BRAC rounds: 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995. The most recent round of BRAC completed in the fall of 2005 and with the commission's recommendations became law in November 2005.

History
The BRAC process was developed in an attempt to achieve the government's goal of closing and realigning military installations despite the political challenges which often arise when facilities face reduction or elimination. Because a military base can bring millions of dollars in federal money to its locale each year, challenges raised by members of Congress from affected districts make such initiatives difficult. Congress created the BRAC process in 1988 as a politically palatable method to pursue such goals.

Process
The process began, May 13, 2005, when the Secretary of Defense forwarded his recommendations for realignments and closures to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission. The BRAC is independent nine-member panel appointed by the President. This panel evaluated the list by taking testimony from interested parties and paying visits to affected bases. The BRAC Commission had the opportunity to add bases to the list, and did so in a July 19, 2005 hearing. The Commission met their deadline of September 2005 to provide the evaluated list to the President, who approved the list with the condition that the list could only be approved or disapproved in its entirety. On November 7, 2005 the approved list was then given to Congress which then had the opportunity to disapprove the entire list within 45 days by enacting a resolution of disapproval. This did not happen and the BRAC Commission’s recommendations became final.

BRAC 2005
The Pentagon released its proposed list for BRAC 2005 on May 13, 2005 (a date given the moniker "BRAC Friday," a pun on Black Friday). After an extensive series of public hearings, analysis of DoD-supplied supporting data, and solicitation of comments from the public, the list of recommendations was revised by the 9-member Defense Base Closure and Realignments Commission in two days of public markups and votes on individual recommendations (the proceedings were broadcast by C-SPAN and are available for review on the network's website). The Commission submitted its revised list to the President on September 8, 2005. The President approved the list and signalled his approval to Congress on September 15. The House of Representatives took up a joint resolution to disapprove the recommendations on October 26, but the resolution failed to pass. The recommendations were thereby enacted. The Secretary of Defense must implement the recommendations not later than September 15, 2011.

Reference
"Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission - 1993 Report to the President" (PDF).http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/docs/1993com2.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-23