Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115, No. 28	July 9 , 2008

Increased numbers forecast as BRAC efforts intensify

Brig. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr.

By LARRY SEE JR.
Messenger Staff

If you have paperwork relating to the Base Realignment and Closure numbers from 2005, disregard it.

Those numbers have changed – for the better.

“There is a lot going on at Fort Knox and we felt it was important to come and give you an update,” said Brig. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr., the commanding general of the U.S. Army Armor Center and Fort Knox.

Campbell and outgoing Garrison Commander Mark Needham addressed media, real estate agents, government officials and others July 2 at the John Hardin High School Performing Arts Center.

Col. Mark Needham

Needham said, when the original numbers were mentioned in 2005, they were predicting 1,724 soldiers and 1,400 civilians would relocate.

Now, he said, the total is about 2,500 soldiers and 3,000 civilians.

“The numbers have never inched down,” he said. “They continue to remain up. In the last 18 months the numbers have increased and they’ll increase more. We’ll need to remain flexible.”

Needham said no one can control growth, but they can manage it.

“That’s my job,” he said. “I am here to manage growth correctly.”

Campbell thanked community leaders for their support.

“We want to be the premier installation in the Army,” Campbell said. “We’ve got to do that through a period of time and we’ll stay focused on that very thing.”

Campbell agreed with Needham’s numbers.

“We’re going to start to grow tremendously,” he said. “And we’re going to start busting at the seams until the Armor School gets out of here.”

The Armor School will start departing in the summer of 2010, with final withdrawal in September 2011.

“This is going to be a significant challenge for all for this to come together,” Campbell said, adding as the soldiers relocate, it’ll still be the Army’s responsibility to provide soldiers for combat.

On the positive side, Campbell said with the influx of people, he expects the number of generals to increase.

“I think we’ll go from eight generals to 13,” Campbell said. “Fifth Avenue is going to be the place for general officer’s quarters.”

“We’re going to be getting three-star generals instead of one-star generals,” Campbell said.

Campbell said $900 million has been committed for the switch of Fort Knox from a training installation to a multi-functional post.

The post will house a brigade combat team from Fort Hood, currently enroute to Afghanistan, but when they return in the fall of 2009, they’ll be moving into what Campbell called “some first-class facilities.”

Needham said soldiers have the option of staying at Fort Hood for another 90 days or they can automatically relocate to Fort Knox.

In addition, the transfer of the Human Resources Command is underway, with staff transferring from Indiana, Virginia and Missouri.

Work has progressed smoothly on the structure, Campbell said, adding contractors are following the schedule closely.

Needham was told the first steel would be placed this week, adding the contractors have worked rapidly on the 883,000 square-foot building to make sure it was done prior to his departure.

“It’s going to be at least two more years before it is done, at least,” Needham said. “This is something you can’t build quickly. Wait until you see it though, it’s going to be an amazing thing. They are doing an amazing job.”

Needham said this was the first time the Army has consolidated human resources functions.

“There is going to be a lot of activity going on here which previously took place at three different locations,” he said.

With the new arrivals, it will change the surrounding demographics, Needham said, adding the new arrivals will have more education.

“The HRC is a unique organization,” he said. “It’s the only one of its kind in the Army and they’re going to do it here on the fly. It’s not going to be easy. Right now we have an advance party here who is going to be here through the summer.”

Needham said there won’t be a job shortage, adding it will benefit the state as local students can graduate and acquire a local position.

“We have a transient work force but a lot of them might not want to transfer, so we’ll be going after those college juniors and seniors and I see that as a big benefit,” he said.

Most of those working in the HRC offices are 53 years old, Needham said, with the Army retirement age at 55.

“There might be a lot of them who won’t come,” he said. “And hiring youth for these jobs might not necessarily be a bad idea.”

Needham said there are currently about 600 vacancies in the Virginia already for the HRC area, and said people could apply for them, relocate to the area for the training and then move when the command relocated to Fort Knox.

Campbell said the Accessions Command won’t be under the auspices of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command anymore, instead reporting to the Army’s Chief of Staff.

“This will also give us more opportunity to shine and I think we’ll see more visitors here,” Campbell said. “I think we’re going to see a lot more high-level visitors to Fort Knox.”

“We’re going to focus on making this as seamless as possible to the post and the outlying communities,” Campbell said. “That’s one of the messages we’re bringing you as far as the transition.”

In other highlights, Campbell continues to support the Patton Museum in efforts to keep it a leadership facility.

“We’re going to make it work,” he said. “The Patton Museum is a viable part of the community and we’re looking forward at doing a similar museum at Fort Benning.”

Another bright spot is construction of a new hospital replacing the Ireland Army Hospital.

The Fort Knox work force is changing from what is considered a “blue-collar” clientele to a “white-collar” element, Campbell said.

“We’re doing our best to work with the local communities,” Campbell said. “We’re not going to do a ‘brain drain.’ It is our intention to make this as seamless as possible.”

Campbell said officials are upgrading housing, but current housing is adequate.

“We’re going to make sure our soldiers can live off post and support them the best way we can,” Campbell said.

Needham said himself and Campbell recently toured housing for the junior enlisted officers, adding they were very well done.

“I think our housing is OK,” he confirmed. “We’re not going to go down in the amount of housing. I still think some civilians and most military will reside off-post as they’ll want to live in the school districts their children attend.”

On the educational aspect, Needham has met with area and state school officials, providing them information.

Campbell had nothing but praise for Needham.

“They don’t get any better than Mark Needham,” he said, referencing the fact the garrison commander was leaving shortly.

Needham said there were 1,300 more soldiers at Fort Knox now than originally predicted in 2005.

“These numbers may change,” Needham cautioned. “We may see a significant number of soldiers still.”

Needham said the base will acquire a lot of soldiers quickly and the Armor Center will not have left yet,

That means Needham will deal with increased traffic and increased numbers at the Chapel.

“And this is going to last for two years before it will all be over,” Needham said.

The current prison will relocate to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., within the next two years, Needham said. He offered the facility to any governmental leaders needing to expand their prisons.

Needham said, during the first BRAC road shows held in 2005, participants planted a seed in those minds about relocating.

“We planted that seed two years ago and the seed grew, took root and expanded,” he said. “Now the people are much more interested and this is more critical to them. They’ve been thinking about it (relocating) for the past two years.

Needham said if you wanted to learn about the increased activity on post, talk to members of the retired officer’s association.

“They’re the ones who know as they go to the commissary,” he said. “If you want to know anything, go to the retired military as they’ll tell you everything you need to know. We have more people on post now than we have had in a long time. We’re operating close to 90 percent capacity and we’ve not been there in a long time.”

Needham mentioned improvements to Wilson Road are planned and widening has been completed at two entrance gates, which admit about 900 vehicles daily each.

“This is a Toyota and the state and the region are starting to realize that,” he said. While all this is swirling around, Fort Knox will continue to do what they do best – educating the soldiers.

“We’re going to continue to educate them the best way that we know how,” he said. “We have a history and we frankly owe it to them. They are the ones that are going to go out there and fight to save the world. Those are the kind of soldiers we have at Fort Knox.”

During a brief question period, Needham acknowledged officials would welcome the expansion of Elizabethtown’s Addington Field.

“I can’t really commit to anything, but if it is turned into a local hub we would be likely to use it,” he said.

He concluded by reporting there will still be some noise emanating from the post, with it being helicopters and some range maneuvers.

“The ranges will still be active,” he said. “That’s part of the draw of Fort Knox. The quality of the ranges and the training.”

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