Review of the Proposed Closure of Fort Monroe, Virginia

GAO reviewed the Army's plan to transfer of Command Headquarters from Fort Monroe, Virginia, to Fort Eustis, Virginia, in 1984, and the inactivation of other Army units at Fort Monroe.

The decision to close Fort Monroe should be deferred until the Army has made a comprehensive estimate of all costs involved. Since the Fort is registered as a national historic landmark, the Army is legally obligated to proceed with the ordnance removal process in a manner consistent with the preservation of items of historical significance. The work would probably require hand shoveling by experienced ordnance and archeological personnel. GAO considers an Army estimate of $2.5 million for clearance of the moat to be too low. The Army must also determine which of the Fort's structures require special preservation, and whether the Fort will remain under Government control and thus subject to U.S. Government-funded caretaker costs. Because of these undetermined cost items, the Army stated that it could not at this time take a position on whether the decision to close Fort Monroe is economically justified.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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