§483 — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary must tell the congressional defense committees at key points when deciding where to put a new or moved major headquarters, covered unit, or major weapon system. Notices must be sent within seven days after each decision point: when formal internal guidance to start the process is issued; when 2–5 candidate locations are picked for more study; and when a preferred location is chosen. Each notice must explain how candidate sites are compared on combined training and all-domain training, airspace and training areas, community support (including talks with State and local officials about transportation, utilities, housing, schools, and family support), how sites are scored and weighted, a summary of any internal scorecards used, and any consultations for decisions that would add many service members. No irreversible action can happen until the 14-day period ends after the preferred-location notice is sent electronically under section 480. Within 10 days after the Department’s budget request is sent to Congress, the Secretary must give the Armed Services Committees a report that updates work started or underway in the past two fiscal years, lists expected basing decisions in the future-years defense plan, and gives a timeline for congressional briefings and notices. That report must at least estimate the number of military and civilian personnel affected, list locations if known, and show the expected timeline. Definitions in brief: a covered military unit needs an environmental impact statement; a major headquarters is led by a general or flag officer; a major weapon system is one treated as a major system; a military installation is a DoD base or similar site; the Secretary concerned means the relevant military department secretary or the Secretary of Defense for Defense Agencies and the Joint Staff.

Title 10, §483

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)At each point in the decision-making process specified in subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall notify the congressional defense committees of the decision-making process to be used or the decision-making process used, whichever applies—

(1)to select a military installation to serve as the first permanent location for a new major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system; or

(2)to make a permanent change in the basing of a major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system by relocating the major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system from its current military installation to a different military installation.

(b)The Secretary concerned shall provide the notice required by subsection (a) within seven days after each of the following decision points during the decision-making process:

(1)When the Secretary concerned issues any formal internal guidance to begin the decision-making process regarding the location or relocation of a major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system.

(2)When the Secretary concerned selects between two and five military installations as the most likely candidate locations for a major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system in order to subject those installations to additional analysis.

(3)When the Secretary concerned selects a specific military installation as the preferred location for the major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system.

(c)In a notice required by subsection (a), the Secretary concerned shall include at a minimum the following:

(1)A description of the manner in which the joint and all-domain training capabilities at each candidate location, if applicable to the type of basing decision-making process at issue, will be or was, whichever applies, comparatively analyzed among candidate military installations, separate from and in addition to the mission criteria to be used or that was used to make the basing decision.

(2)A description of the manner in which the airspace and training areas available at each candidate location, if applicable to the type of basing decision-making process at issue, will be or was, whichever applies, comparatively analyzed among candidate military installations, separate from and in addition to the mission criteria to be used or that was used to make the basing decision.

(3)A description of the manner in which community support for the basing decision-making process described in subsection (a) will be or was, whichever applies, comparatively analyzed among candidate military installations, including consultation with appropriate State officials and officials of units of local government in which each installation is located regarding matters affecting the local community, such as transportation, utility infrastructure, housing, education, and family support activities. In any case in which the Secretary concerned selects as the preferred location a military installation with less community support compared to other locations, as indicated by such a comparative analysis, an explanation of the operational considerations that formed the basis for such selection.

(4)An explanation of how each candidate location will be or was, whichever applies, scored against the factors referred to in the preceding paragraphs, including the weight assigned to each factor.

(5)A summary of any internal score cards that will be or were, whichever applies, used to make the basing decision.

(6)With respect to any decision of the Secretary concerned that would result in a significant increase in the number of members of the Armed Forces assigned to a military installation, a description of the consultation with appropriate State and local entities regarding the basing decision to ensure consideration of matters affecting the local community, including requirements for transportation, utility infrastructure, housing, education, and family support activities.

(d)No irrevocable action may be taken to effect or implement a basing decision reached through the decision-making process described in subsection (a) until the end of the 14-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary concerned submits, in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title, the notice referred to in subsection (b)(3) regarding a preferred location for the major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system.

(e)(1)Not later than 10 days after the date on which the budget request for a fiscal year is submitted to Congress under section 1105 of title 31, the Secretary concerned shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report providing the following:

(A)An update on the status and anticipated completion date of each decision-making process that was commenced or was underway during the previous two fiscal years regarding the location or relocation of a major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system.

(B)A list and description of anticipated basing decisions to be made regarding the location or relocation of a major headquarters, covered military unit, or major weapon system over the period covered by the future-years defense plan.

(C)A timeline for a congressional engagement plan to brief the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate during the decision-making process and when decision notifications would be provided to interested Members of Congress.

(2)To satisfy the requirements of paragraph (1)(B), a report under this subsection shall include at a minimum the following:

(A)An estimate of the number of members of the armed forces and civilian personnel potentially impacted by the basing decision.

(B)The locations to be considered, if already known.

(C)The expected timeline for beginning the decision-making process and reaching a final determination.

(f)In this section:

(1)The term “covered military unit” means a unit of the armed forces whose initial assignment to a military installation or relocation from a military installation to a different military installation requires the preparation of an environmental impact statement in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

(2)The term “major headquarters” means the headquarters of a military unit or command that is the appropriate command of a general officer or flag officer.

(3)The term “major weapon system” means a weapon system that is treatable as a major system under section 3041(a) and (b) of this title.

(4)The term “military installation” means a base, camp, post, station, yard, center, homeport facility for any ship, or other activity under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including any leased facility. Such term does not include any facility used primarily for civil works, rivers and harbors projects, or flood control projects.

(5)The term “Secretary concerned” means—

(A)the Secretary of the military department concerned; and

(B)the Secretary of Defense with respect to matters concerning the Defense Agencies and the Joint Staff.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in subsec. (f)(1), is Pub. L. 91–190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (§ 4321 et seq.) of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 4321 of Title 42 and Tables.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 483, added Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title III, § 323(a), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1675; amended Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title X, § 1067(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 774; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [[div. A], title III, § 372], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–80, related to reports on transfers from high-priority readiness appropriations, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title X, § 1084(a)(1)(A), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 871.

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (f)(4). Pub. L. 118–159 struck out “, which is located within any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or Guam” before period at end. 2022—Subsec. (c)(6). Pub. L. 117–263 added par. (6). 2021—Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 117–81 inserted “this” before “title”. Pub. L. 116–283, § 1883(b)(2), which directed that each reference in the text of title 10 to a section that was redesignated by title XVIII of Pub. L. 116–283, as such section was in effect before the redesignation, be amended by striking such reference and inserting a reference to the appropriate redesignated section, was executed by substituting “section 3041(a) and (b) of this title” for “section 2302(5) of title”. section 1806(c)(2) of Pub. L. 116–283 first redesignated section 2302(5) of this title as section 3041(a) and subsequently designated the third sentence thereof as subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2021 AmendmentAmendment by section 1883(b)(2) of Pub. L. 116–283 effective Jan. 1, 2022, with additional provisions for delayed implementation and applicability of existing law, see section 1801(d) of Pub. L. 116–283, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.

§483 Notifications related to basing decision-making process