Privatization in Place and the Base Closure Community

This thesis studies the experience of the local community during the privatization in place of Newark Air Force Base (NAFB), Ohio. Licking County faced the loss of its largest employer after the 1993 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC), a five-year commission established by President George Bush as a measure to cut national defense spending after the Cold War's end, recommended closing the Air Force repair facility. Licking County leaders sought help from elected officials to have the Air Force implement a plan that would keep the NAFB workload in place under the auspices of private industry-privatization in place. In its base closure recommendation, the BRAC gave the Air Force flexibility to craft a privatization in place plan. But the Air Force did not know how much the plan would cost or if it was in the best interests of national defense.