The
Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) was founded in 1961 to assist military host communities in all 50 states and U.S. territories. In 1992, at the beginning of the first round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), OLDCC, also known as the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), was charged by
Executive Order (EO) 12788 with running the Defense Economic Adjustment Program. The program was to “...assist in the alleviation of serious community socioeconomic effects that result from major defense base closures, realignments, and defense contract-related adjustments, and the encroachment of the civilian community on the mission of military installations.”1 Since its formation, OLDCC has grown and developed, and provides support to state and local partners through grants and technical assistance to “...enhance readiness of installations and ranges, and to deliver safe spaces for members and their families where capabilities in the Department of Defense do not otherwise exist.”2 OLDCC also supports the DoD by making sure that communities are prepared to efficiently respond to any changes in military missions or policies. This is facilitated by ensuring that defense manufacturing and supply chains remain agile and responsive and that communities support sustainable economic development that reinforces local military installations and their missions.
Compatibility Factors relevant to the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation: All 24 Compatibility Factors
Relevant Programs and Plans
The Installation Resilience program provides technical and financial
assistance to states and local governments to analyze and implement actions that foster, protect, and enhance military
installation sustainability and resilience. A Compatible Use Study (CUS), previously called a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS),
can help military installations and surrounding communities determine land uses that are compatible with maintaining the
use of ranges, special use airspace, military operations areas and military training routes. A CUS may also include recommendations
for improving future planning efforts and initiatives that benefit both an installation and the surrounding community.
A Military Installation Resilience Review (MIRR) helps installations and surrounding communities identify, develop responsive
implementation strategies, and mitigate shared risks, hazards, and vulnerabilities associated with resources outside an
installation, but that are nevertheless still critical to conducting military missions. Communities can apply for OLDCC,
DoD, and other federal agency funding featured on this tab for projects that implement the initiatives of either study.
Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot (DCIP) Program: Authorized by Public Law 115-232 Section 2861, this OLDCC program
provides funding through competitive grants, cooperative agreements, and other sources to improve deficient infrastructure
in and around installations, benefiting communities and the military. Eligible projects include transportation, community
support facilities, and utilities that meet a
series of requirements. Applicants are encouraged to explore the
program website, which includes an overview of submittal requirements and highlights previous grant awardees, including
NAS Patuxent River. OLDCC also hosts pre-proposal webinars to discuss project goals and objectives and answer any questions.
The
Diversification & Modernization program supports several objectives, including community revitalization following job losses from defense reductions, strong military-community partnerships, and the creation of a competitive and resilient defense industrial base. To achieve these goals, program partners, together with DoD and other federal agencies, bring insight and experience directly to communities. The program also provides resources for state and local partners to help defense manufacturers advance and manufacture new products, capture new investments, and develop new technologies. The goal is to accelerate modernizing military technology and industrial capabilities, while maintaining technological superiority. The Industry Resilience program also helps communities strengthen economic and cyber resiliency of defense industry supply chains to ensure that the defense industrial base remains strong and is able to provide the best equipment, most advanced technologies, and the highest levels of service possible. Interested parties can learn more about eligibility and requirements on the program's website.
The Defense Manufacturing Community Support Program (DMCSP) is authorized under Section 846 of Public Law 115-232 and was
developed in collaboration with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy and the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. It assists communities with long-term investments
that strengthen national security innovation and expand the capabilities of the defense manufacturing industrial base.
Eligible activities include support for equipment or facility upgrades, workforce training, retraining, retention and
recruitment that includes women and underrepresented minorities, business incubators, advanced research and commercial
partnering, including with federal laboratories and depots, supply chain development, and small and emerging business
assistance. The program website addresses eligibility requirements and provides information about previous grant awardees.
The Mission Realignment Program helps state and local governments anticipate and respond
to changes due to BRAC, or other DoD force modernization actions. An OLDCC assigned project
manager works with a jurisdiction impacted by BRAC and can help organize a redevelopment authority, which can serve as
a forum to discuss community issues and concerns and be the single point of contact for local, state, and federal agencies.
Communities facing BRAC realignments are most successful when organized around a single redevelopment authority to respond
to and tackle issues. A state agency may serve as that redevelopment authority and lead a locally based response and redevelopment
effort when multiple military installations across the state are affected.
Military installations can be among the largest employers in a community or region and when reductions occur, strategies
to reemploy or retrain displaced workers and help affected businesses should be developed in conjunction with a local
redevelopment authority. When military operations terminate, technical and financial assistance from OLDCC allows states
and communities to gain ownership of former military bases, as soon as possible. Communities may use OLDCC grant funds
to support existing staff, or hire experts to advise local leaders about the complex process of property disposal, redevelopment,
and post-closure adjustment/stabilization; including workforce, business, and community recovery. Environmental conditions
of a property and related land use restrictions must be assessed before decisions can be finalized about future land uses
and redevelopment. OLDCC can help provide consultants to assist in this process, establish a local redevelopment authority,
and prepare the pro forma and other materials included in an Economic Development Conveyance application.
The OLDCC Construction program helps states and communities invest in public services and infrastructure to support a military
installation's mission and advance quality of life in affected jurisdictions. There are four assistance programs within
the Construction program that help communities absorb military growth and expansion and support investments in infrastructure,
such as renovating public schools on military bases, improving roads that serve medical facilities, and investing in other
community infrastructure. The construction program enables communities to organize, evaluate, and plan for appropriate
investments that support sustainability, military readiness, and mission growth.
In fall 2023, OLDCC announced a Forecast
Notice of Funding Opportunity Notice for the new $75 million
Community Noise Mitigation Program. According to the noitce, this grant may be awarded to state and local governments for the purpose of reducing the impact of fixed wing military aviation noise on "covered" facilities, which include hospitals, daycare facilities, schools, facilities serving senior citizens, and private residences. These faciliites must be located either within one-mile of the installation boundary or within an area experiencing day-night average sound level of 65 decibels or greater due to military fixed-wing aviation noise.
The public comment period for the proposed funding opportunity has concluded and OLDCC is currently preparing a Final Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Visit the program website to learn more and sign up to receive updates.
1 Executive Order 12788—Defense Economic Adjustment Program Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.
2 An Introduction to OLDCC. Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.