Another Way to Manage Installations: Safeguarding Scarce Resources for the Future

摘要

Senior military leaders spend an inordinate amount of time and effort on themanagement of the day-to-day operation of the places where military personnel and their families live, work, and play. This research paper will propose and analyze two controversial measures that will, if implemented, release senior leaders to more pressing duties and also help to make the Department of Defense more efficient in the way that it manages real estate and resources. The first of these two measures is to turn the management of all Department of Defense real estate holdings over to civilians who are trained and experienced in the city management skills needed to efficiently care for our facilities on a daily basis. This will remove the requirement for general officers to command installations and for senior field grade officers to command garrison activities. The second measure is the proposal that the Department of Defense completely divest itself of all of its real estate holdings, turning them over to another federal agency, such as the General Services Administration, for day-to-day management.