The Naval Ordnance Station Louisville: A Case Study of Privatization-in-Place

During the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure BRAC process the Department of Defense DoD recommended to the independent BRAC Commission that the Louisville naval depot be closed and its workload transferred to several DoD facilities. Louisvilles naval gun repair workload was proposed to transfer to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Virginia its Phalanx Close-In Weapon System work to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, Indiana and its engineering support functions to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California. During the BRAC Commissions review of DoDs suggestions, the city of Louisville proposed that DoD privatize the depot workload in place, which at the time included engineering of Naval surface weapon systems, and overhaul and maintenance of naval gun systems, including Phalanx CIWS. The BRAC Commission recommended the following Close the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division Detachment, Louisville. Transfer workload, equipment, and facilities to the private sector of local jurisdiction as appropriate if the private sector can accommodate the workload on site or relocate necessary functions along with necessary personnel, equipment and support to other naval technical activities. Subsequently, the Navy made a preliminary decision to privatize-in-place Louisvilles depot operations. Privatization-in-place, as such, has been attempted at only a handful of bases around the country and the Louisville depot was the first to complete the process. While it was not without its problems, the privatization of the Naval Ordnance Station Louisville was ultimately a success story for all parties involved.