Privatizing the Naval Surface Warfare Center Depot at Louisville

Abstract

During the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the Department of Defense (DoD) recommended that the Louisville depot be closed and its workloads transferred to several DoD facilities. The depot's principal mission was to overhaul and repair the Navy's multi-platform 5-inch gun and its Phalanx close-in antiaircraft system. The plan was to transfer the gun repair work to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia, the Phalanx to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana, and the engineering support functions to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California. During the BRAC review process, the city of Louisville proposed to the Commission that the DoD privatize the depot workload in-place. The Commission found that the Navy's cost savings from the closure were overstated, that the gun systems engineering functions at Louisville are consistent with operational requirements, and that the maintenance and overhaul functions performed at the facility have contributed substantially to the effectiveness of the Department of the Navy.