State gets $5,000,000 for job training

The state of Georgia received $5 million dollars today to train workers affected by the base closings and realignment.
The money comes from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Three million dollars is earmarked for the Columbus area where Fort Benning will undergo an expansion that is expected to bring 35 thousand people to the area.

$2 million dollars is meant for job training in Athens and Atlanta where Fort Gillem, Fort McPherson and The Navy Supply Corp school are closing. Governor Perdue accepted the check in a ceremony at Fort McPherson today

Overall, Georgia gained troops in the Base Realignment and Closure process. But in Metro Atlanta about 6000 people will have to find new jobs. The closed facilities will be re-developed. Plans in Atlanta include a technology park and housing and a health sciences center in Athens.

Here are experts from the Governor's Press release.

The grant provides funding for regional workforce development projects
tied to military base transitions associated with the federal Base
Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). Specifically, it will fund
two regional initiatives over 36 months:

* Fort Benning: $3 million to develop workforce for industrial
construction; automotive maintenance and aerospace advanced
manufacturing; and information and communication technologies

* Fort Gillem, Fort McPherson, Navy Supply Corps School: $2
million to transition the workforce at these facilities with a focus on
new jobs associated with the life sciences industry cluster

Navy supply corps school closer to relocating

The navy is apparently one step closer to relocating a supply corps school from Athens to Rhode Island.

It also comes closer to clearing the way for the Medical College of Georgia to possibly open a branch campus there.

The Athens Banner Herald is reporting that navy officials have signed a $24.5 million contract with a construction firm in Rhode Island. It includes plans to construct a new building and renovate an existing one in Newport.

The Athens school provides administrative, logistical and media training to sailors and Marines. Officials expect it to close it within three years.

Governor Sonny Perdue and officials in Athens want the property to be used as a branch campus of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

The proposal is controversial, though. Some community leaders in Augusta want any expansion of the medical school to happen at the main campus there.