These and all other BRAC recommendations must be completed within six years of their approval by the President. Main Post

The Main Post is located at 7100 Georgia Ave. N.W. The major, though not the only, facility resident on the Main Post is the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). It is located on the WRAMC Main Post. Master planning for the creation of the WRNMMC and necessary NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) actions began during Fiscal Year 2006. The staff is currently located at WRAMC. Construction of the METC is scheduled to be completed in September 2010. 13. The Department of State and the General Services Administration have requested that title to the property be transferred to them in roughly equal portions. Options for Congress

Some legislation that could affect the implementation of BRAC Commission Recommendation #169 has already been proposed in the 110 th Congress. The bills that are most advanced include the proposed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 ( H.R. 1585 ), which would establish a funding floor for WRAMC operations, and the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act ( S. 1606 ), which would require the Secretary of Defense to assess the feasibility of accelerating the construction of new medical facilities. Both bills are on the Senate's Legislative Calendar. Therefore, the Commission recommends the following: Realign Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, as follows: relocate all tertiary (sub-specialty and complex care) medical services to National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, establishing it as the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, MD; relocate Legal Medicine to the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, MD; relocate sufficient personnel to the new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Bethesda, MD, to establish a Program Management Office that will coordinate pathology results, contract administration, and quality assurance and control of DoD second opinion consults worldwide; relocate all non-tertiary (primary and specialty) patient care functions to a new community hospital at Ft Belvoir, VA; relocate the Office of the Secretary of Defense supporting unit to Ft. Belvoir, VA; disestablish all elements of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology except the National Medical Museum and the Tissue Repository; relocate the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, DNA Registry, and Accident Investigation to Dover Air Force Base, DE; AFIP capabilities not specified in this recommendation will be absorbed into other DoD, Federal, or civilian facilities, as necessary; relocate enlisted histology technician training to Ft. Sam Houston, TX; relocate the Combat Casualty Care Research sub-function (with the exception of those organizational elements performing neuroprotection research) of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Forest Glen Annex) and the Combat Casualty Care Research sub-function of the Naval Medical Research Center (Forest Glen Annex) to the Army Institute of Surgical Research, Ft. Sam Houston, TX; relocate Medical Biological Defense Research of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Forest Glen Annex) and Naval Medical Research Center (Forest Glen Annex) to Ft. Detrick, MD, and consolidate it with U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases; relocate Medical Chemical Defense Research of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (Forest Glen Annex) to Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, and consolidate it with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense; and close the main post. As of the date of this report, the relevant bill sections and bill status are listed below:
To prohibit the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center notwithstanding the 2005 recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. (Introduced in House) [ H.R. 712. U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate) [ H.R. 110-28 on May 25, 2007. SEC. (a) Assessment of Acceleration of Construction of Facilities- The Secretary of Defense shall carry out an assessment of the feasibility (including the cost-effectiveness) of accelerating the construction and completion of any new facilities required to facilitate the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, District of Columbia, as required as a result of the 2005 round of defense base closure and realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of P.L.
The 2005 Defense Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) establish a new Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) on the site of the current National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, Maryland. The President approved the recommendation in September 2005, and the Secretary of Defense is required by statute to implement it within six years of the date of that approval.
Part of that recommendation is the realignment of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), which entails the transfer of many functions from organizations currently located on its Georgia Avenue main post in the District of Columbia and Forest Glen annex in suburban Maryland to other defense installations. The main post is scheduled to be closed. The Department of State and General Services Administration have requested that title to portions of the main post property be transferred to them.
This report details the BRAC Commission recommendation to create the WRNMMC, and the concomitant realignment of the WRAMC. It describes the concerns raised by the community before the BRAC Commission regarding the closure of the WRAMC main post and explains each of the 13 parts of the overall recommendation. The report details the principal organizations currently resident at WRAMC and indicates the fate of each. It describes the timing of the necessary construction and moves, as currently planned by DOD. It also includes a discussion of BRAC-related recommendations made by an Independent Review Group in their April 2007 report to the Secretary of Defense on patient care at WRAMC.
Appendix C includes legislative language regarding the creation of the WRAMC that has been proposed during the 110th Congress. Significantly, the proposed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 1585) includes a provision (Sec. 712) that would establish a floor for funding for WRAMC operations at the FY2006 level until new facilities are "completed, equipped, and staffed." Also, the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act (S. 1606) would require the Secretary of Defense to assess the feasibility of accelerating the construction of new facilities needed before closing WRAMC (the planned realignment actually closes only the main post, not the entire installation). If such acceleration is deemed feasible, he would then plan and execute that construction. Both bills are on the Senate's Legislative Calendar. Other proposed bills that could affect the operation of WRAMC include H.R. 1417 (to prohibit the closure of Walter Reed Army Medical Center notwithstanding the 2005 recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission), H.R. 2206 (U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, enacted as P.L. 110-28 on May 25, 2007), and S. 1044 (Effective Care for the Armed Forces and Veterans Act of 2007).
This report will be updated as necessary.