The Army has excess infrastructure that is inadequate for mission requirements. It also has significant requirements for modern infrastructure to support readiness, enable force projection, and enhance well being, recruiting, and retention. Aggressive efforts to address this challenge include programs to eliminate excess infrastructure, programs to replace or refurbish infrastructure that no longer meets requirements, and programs to build infrastructure to meet new requirements. While eliminating excess infrastructure reduces the burden of facilities maintenance, providing modern infrastructure, in the right places, is equally important for ensuring ranges and other facilities support information-age equipment and processes. Having the right facilities not only sustains our operations and training missions, but also supports the Army's soldiers, their families, and Army civilians.

Sources of funding for Army infrastructure include Military Construction (MILCON), RPM, and AFH accounts. Military Construction accounts pay for the construction of barracks and other key infrastructure, such as ranges, strategic mobility facilities, and USAR Centers. Real Property Maintenance accounts provide funding for the upkeep of maintenance facilities, training facilities, administrative space, barracks, and other real property infrastructure essential to force readiness. The AFH account pays for the construction and upkeep of AFH at installations in the CONUS and around the world. Base Operations, or BASOPS, is another account closely related to Army infrastructure because BASOPS accounts fund municipal services; utilities; leases; Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) activities; and other installation support.

Eliminating Excess Infrastructure
Base Realignment and Closure is the most powerful tool for reshaping and eliminating excess infrastructure. Having completed the closures and realignments authorized under three of the four BRAC rounds, the Army supports the DoD request for additional BRAC authorizations. Annual recurring savings from BRAC have exceeded the cost of implementing authorized actions since FY1997. Closures and realignments authorized under the last BRAC process are on schedule to meet the July 2001, deadline for completion. Environmental cleanup and property disposal associated with all four BRAC rounds will continue beyond FY2007.

The FRP is another effective way to streamline Army infrastructure. From FY1992 through FY1999, the Army disposed of approximately 68.0 million square feet (MSF) of excess infrastructure. The FRP is on schedule to meet the DoD Defense Reform Initiative target by eliminating an additional 32.6 MSF of excess infrastructure by the end of FY2003. Savings achieved through BRAC and FRP could help provide funds for transformation.

Military Construction
For FY2001, the President's Budget requests $1.0 billion for construction in the MILCON accounts. The main focus of the AC investment is to continue the upgrade of all permanent party barracks to the approved standard by FY2008. Funds provide for ten whole barracks complexes at eight CONUS installations, two projects in Korea, and five projects in Germany. When complete, these projects will house nearly 5,000 soldiers. In addition, the budget request will provide adequate housing for unaccompanied personnel at Kwajalein Atoll, and includes phase one of a basic trainee complex to house 1,200 new recruits at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The ARNG is requesting funding for 28 facility projects, totalling $59.1 million. The projects include a regional training institute, five readiness centers, and alterations to the maintenance facilities to support the fielding of units scheduled to activate by FY2003. The USAR request, at $81.7 million, will fund six USAR Centers, and a Joint Reserve Complex.

Army Barracks Modernization Plan

The Army is on track to modernize single solider housing to the "1+1" standard. This is a private living and sleeping area connected to a service area.

The FY2001 request also continues the Army's investment in strategic mobility by funding six projects, including improvements to rail yard infrastructure and an ammunition holding area. These investments are part of an ongoing effort to complete major strategic mobility enhancements by FY2003. They will also provide funding for several ongoing projects, including Cadet Physical Development Center Revitalization at the United States Military Academy; Digital Multi-purpose Training Ranges at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Hood, Texas; the Consolidated Soldier Support Center at Fort Drum, New York. These projects are an important part of the overall program to match Army infrastructure to mission requirements.

To balance all readiness accounts in FY2001, RPM is funded at 69 percent of the annual requirement. Since RPM has been funded at a percentage of actual requirements for many years, the Army faces a facilities maintenance backlog. Army implementation of BRAC and the FRP is reducing the annual facilities maintenance requirement.

Army Family Housing
The Army's leadership is committed to providing high quality AFH. The cost of achieving this goal exceeds the funding level available. The Army does not have enough housing to meet its needs, and much of its current housing inventory is in need of revitalization. The current revitalization requirement is $6.0 billion, with another $1.0 billion needed to eliminate the housing deficit. The Army supports DoD's efforts to address the housing challenge by funding AFH, increasing service members' ability to afford off-post housing, and pursuing privatization initiatives. The President's Budget request for FY2001 funds AFH at $1.1 billion, allowing $162.0 million for construction. It also funds increases for housing allowances that will reduce out-of-pocket expenses for off-post housing to 15 percent of total cost in FY2001.

To address the housing challenge, Congress passed the 1996 Military Housing Privatization Initiative. This legislation authorizes the Services to attract private sector expertise and capital for improving housing facilities and services provided to military members and their families. Pursuant to this authorization, the Army developed its Residential Communities Initiative (RCI), a plan to privatize AFH by FY2005. Last year, Congress raised concerns about the pace of Service privatization programs and limited initial Army privatization efforts to Fort Carson, Colorado, and three additional sites. In response to these congressional concerns, the Army added $278.0 million in traditional AFH funding back into its MILCON program for FY2001 through FY2005. We have implemented a privatization initiative at Fort Carson, and are pursuing three pilot RCI sites: Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Fort Meade, Maryland.

These privatization projects will outlease land and convey an interest in the current AFH inventory to a private organization. The organization will revitalize the inventory and build additional new units. In addition, it will operate and maintain the inventory for a prescribed period. Families will pay rent, but the amount of rent charged will not exceed allowances. The Army supports the DoD legislative proposal to extend the housing privatization authority for an additional five years, and intends to seek congressional approval for additional privatization once there is sufficient evidence that the current efforts are successful.

Single Soldier Housing

Quality barracks for our single soldiers should provide a safe, clean living environment and support both recruiting and retention efforts. The Army's highest facilities priority is to modernize permanent-party, single soldier housing to meet a "1+1" standard.

This standard provides each soldier with a private living and sleeping area connected to a service area (with refrigerator and microwave) and bathroom shared with one other soldier. The Army is on track to achieve this standard by FY2008 through the Whole Barracks Renewal Program and the Barracks Upgrade Program. The Whole Barracks Renewal Program is based on the concept of brigade complexes. In addition to soldier living space, each complex includes community buildings; a consolidated dining facility; and company, battalion, and brigade headquarters areas. With some funding assistance from host nations, the Army will also upgrade single soldier housing in Europe and Korea by FY2008.