Feeling confused about BRAC?
The logistical, financial and political machinations surrounding the national military base realignment and closure process are complicated enough. But throw in the acronym-steeped terminology government officials use and it's enough to make an average citizen's head spin.
For example, someone who states that "DBED told CSSC that BRAC will send C4ISR jobs to APG and DISA jobs to FGGM" is sure to leave the listener flummoxed.
But not to worry. CSSC - that's the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor - has published "BRACANYMS," a booklet intended to bring linguistic clarity to BRAC discourse. The 12-page glossary seeks to familiarize followers of the BRAC process with the flood of acronyms and abbreviations creeping into the discussion.
"You really need it," said Bill Jones, Baltimore County's BRAC coordinator. "It's like your American Express card - you can't leave home without it."
BRAC will bring about 8,000 jobs from Fort Monmouth, N.J., to Aberdeen Proving Ground, and 6,000 from Fort Belvoir in northern Virginia to Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County. State officials estimate that as many as 60,000 BRAC-related jobs will come to Central Maryland in the next decade.
The idea for the booklet came out of meetings of CSSC, a regional partnership of state and county officials working to prepare for the BRAC influx. Baltimore County's Economic Development Department published 10,000 copies at a cost of about $3,000 and began distributing them at the Maryland Association of Counties conference in August.
"It's our secret decoder booklet," said Fronda Cohen, Baltimore County's marketing director. "We took the acronyms from an Army report and have heard it's just the tip of the iceberg. Still, it's a real asset that we are sharing."
Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, received his copy at a BRAC work force seminar in Harford County last week. In his keynote address, he urged businesses to become familiar with the acronyms.
"We will get more done, if we collaborate, and we will make sure we are saying the right things," he said.
But some are wary of specialized language. There is a certain elitism inherent in acronym-speak, said Linda Coleman, assistant professor of English at the University of Maryland, College Park.
"Being in the know about acronyms makes you a member of the `in' group," she said.
