Fort George G. Meade: The First 100 Years

BRAC to BRAC
The Base Realignment and Closure process is used
periodically by the Department of Defense to assess
the need for reorganization in an effort to make the
most efficient use of installations to support of troops
and their missions. The BRAC process has touched Fort
Meade several times in ways that greatly impacted the
installation and the surrounding communities.
In 1988, in the post Vietnam years, Fort Meade served
mainly as a training base for Reserve and National Guard
troops. Considering its size, usage and the proximity to
Washington, D.C., the commission recommended the
partial closure of the installation. Citing the encroachment
of densely-populated communities, the commission
directed that 9,000 acres of ranges, the air field and
training areas be "disposed" of. They also directed that
the installation’s mission be realigned from an active Army
post to an administrative center in the extended National
Capital Region. According to the report, the move
would leave NSA and First Army as the major tenants
of the installation. The commission recommended the
installation seek opportunities for government or private
development on the redirected land.
Eventually, 7,000 acres of Fort Meade land was
transferred to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. The
transfer of land to the research center was completed in
1991.
The 1991 BRAC brought additional training resources
to Fort Meade. With the desire to combine and
consolidate schools, the Defense Photography School
from Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, the Defense
Visual Information School from Lowry Air Force Base,
Colorado, and the Defense Information School from Fort
Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, were combined and moved
to Fort Meade. Today, the Defense Information School
offers 33 different courses that last from 5 to 124 days.
DINFOS trains approximately 2,800 students annually,
and has trained more than 1,000 international students
from more than 75 countries.
Also, the 1991 BRAC called for the realignment of
Kimbrough Army Community Hospital from an inpatient
facility to a clinic, citing multiple medical facilities in the
area which could provide the necessary services.
CYBERSPACE AND THE FUTURE
Other changes that occurred as a result of the 1991
BRAC was the movement of The Defense Investigative
Service and the Investigations Control and Automation
Directorate from Fort Holabird, Maryland, to Fort Meade
where the operations were consolidated. The Commission
ruled Fort Holabird to be “excess to the needs of the
Army” and was closed.
It wasn’t until 2005 that the BRAC process turned
toward Fort Meade again. The decisions made by that
commission were a clear signal that Fort Meade would
become a central hub for information and intelligence
operations with the arrival of three major agencies.
The Consolidated Defense Adjudication Activity
brought security clearance adjudicators from multiple
locations together under one headquarters.
The Defense Media Activity is the consolidated
headquarters for the communication of news and
information to U.S. forces worldwide. The agency presents
news, information and entertainment on a variety of
media platforms.
Finally, the Defense Information Systems Agency
is responsible for DoD computer and automation
information systems and networks. The largest of the
agencies to move to Fort Meade, the DISA headquarters
is more than 1 million square feet of office space to house
nearly 4,300 people.
Fort Meade’s growth did not stop after the BRAC
commission moves were complete. Air Force Cyber,
Marine Forces Cyber, Navy Cyber and U.S. Cyber
Command, all established headquarters here.
Then in August 2017, President Trump signed orders to
elevate U.S. Cyber Command from its position as a subunified
command under Strategic Command, to make
it the tenth combatant command in the Department of
Defense.
***
(Left top) The Defense Information Systems Agency was the largest
of three agencies that came to Fort Meade as part of the 2005 BRAC.
(Left right) 7,000 acres of Fort Meade land were turned over to
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Hikers on the trails around
the park have run into derelict tanks once used as targets on Fort
Meade’s weapons ranges. Due to the cost of moving them, the tanks
have remained in place. (Bottom) The Defense Media Activity under
construction.
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