Ft. Benning: Corps okays $64M BRAC project

Entrance gate to Fort Benning. (Dave Bender/file)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded two California and Virginia Beach, Va.-based consulting firms a $64 million to design and build several public structures on Fort Benning, near Columbus.

Tetra Tech-Tesoro says they will build a library and instruction facility, a maintenance facility, and storage buildings in the joint project.

The project is part of the Army's planned relocation of the Armor Center at Fort Knox to Fort Benning over the next several years, as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

Maneuver Center of Excellence

Tetra Tech-Tesoro says they expect the construction to be completed in 2010, according to a Market Watch report.

Click here for more GPB News coverage about BRAC and Fort Benning.

Ft. Benning hospital b'day present: $350 M

Martin Army Community Hospital, Fort Benning. (Courtesy) President George Bush on Monday granted $350 million dollars for a new army hospital in southwest Georgia, as the facility it will replace commemorates its 50th anniversary. The funds for Martin Army Hospital at Fort Benning are part of an emergency Iraq War funding bill. Hospital Director Colonel Harry Warren says the center plans to open a traumatic brain injury clinic for wounded soldiers:

"In fact, we already have funding before the new hospital for an outpatient clinic along these lines, actually, next month."

Army officials say repairs are being made to the present facility, which is beset with rusty plumbing, an underpowered electrical system and a leaky roof. The hospital serves the region, and will continue functioning until the new, 500,000 million dollar facility is built over the next four-to-five years.

Rep. Sanford Bishop, 2nd Cong. Dist. (in suit), Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, and Martin Army Community Hospital officials wield ceremonial swords to cut a 50th birthday cake. (Dave Bender)

An influx of some 30,000 troops, families and dependents is expected when the Army's Armor School at Fort Knox moves down to Fort Benning as a part of the Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning, and here for more on the BRAC plan.

House ok's Fort Benning hospital funding bill

Martin Army Community Hospital (Courtesy)

Fort Benning's aging Martin Army Community Hospital will be rebuilt to the tune of $350 million, if a vote approved by the House last week passes a Senate vote and is signed into law by President George Bush.

Army officials say the facility suffers from significant infrastructure problems, among them a corroded plumbing system, an overtaxed electrical system and a decaying roof.

A hospital spokesperson says they want to build a traumatic brain injury clinic, for troops wounded in battle.

Officials say a new facility would serve some 100,000 soldiers and dependents in coming years, as part of the national Base Realignment and Closure program.

The bill also includes funding for medical facilities at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and Fort Riley, Kansas.

The bill now faces a Senate vote.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning, and here for more on the BRAC plan.

Ft. Benning: more water for BRAC

Secondary settling basin at one of the post's three aging water-treatment plants. (Dave Bender)

Fort Benning near Columbus today inaugurated an upgraded, higher-flow water treatment system, fed from the Chattahoochee River. But officials say the post's use won't affect the river's drought-strained water levels upstream.

The step is part of an upgrade for the post's three aging water treatment facilities, which had previously only drawn water from the nearby Upatoi Creek.

Army officials say they expect a sharp increase in usage in coming years: 30,000 troops and their families that will join their ranks, as an entire armor school from Fort Knox transfers here as part of the nationwide Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

Post garrison Commander Colonel Keith Lovejoy is responsible for coordinating the project with state and local agencies.

Lovejoy says he doesn't foresee future water usage conflicts with the Army Corps of Engineers, and says they are planning their water usage together:

“They are controlling all of our growth here. they're the ones that are issuing the contracts here; they're the ones making sure the pipes are right, they're making sure that we have enough water.”

Lovejoy adds that all of the agencies dealing with the issue, meet regularly to ensure the 184,000 acre training base has enough water for the nearly 110,000 troops that pass through it's gates annually:

“...As a matter of fact, once a month we get everybody together: the Corps of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Columbus Water Works, Flint Electricity; just put everybody together in the same room to make sure that the impact, and what everybody's doing to everybody else is working.”

Dr. Carol Couch of the Environmental Protection Division says the post's water needs won't significantly affect the Chattahoochee's water levels.

Couch says the area has six-to-10 times the water flow of upstream communities in the Atlanta area. She says state meteorologists see the drought continuing this summer, and is encouraging Georgia's residents make conserving water a regular part of their life:

“Conserving ought to be something we do every day, and adapting and modifying how we use water. and it isn't really a radical change in lifestyle; it's just something that ought to be as natural as – for most people today – clipping a seat belt together.”

Columbus Water Works officials say the city purifies and returns about 90 percent of the water it uses to the river, and don't foresee the post's expected usage to be a problem.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning, and the effects of the expected BRAC move to the area.

Perdue's line item vetos for '09 budget

Governor Perdue line-item vetoed $142 million in cash this year, including cash projects and debt service on $22 million in vetoed bond projects. The Governor’s vetos break down as follows:

Department of Economic Development:

• $125,000 to the Tourism program for the development of a five year business plan for the Georgia Tourism Foundation
• $150,000 to the Tourism program for the restoration of Augusta's historic Powder Works chimney
• $3,000,000 to the Tourism program for the National Infantry Museum
• $250,000 to the Tourism program for the Georgia International and Maritime Trade Center Authority to perform an economic impact and environmental improvement study

Department of Education:

• $900,000 to the Technology/Career Education program in order to provide funds for a Classroom Technology initiative

Department of Human Resources:

• $31,007 for the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund program to provide for increased operating expenses

Department of Juvenile Justice:

• $600,000 for the Children and Youth Coordinating Council for “Connecting Henry, Inc” to provide for a multi-jurisdictional collaborative to address the high drop out rate in the community

Department of Public Safety:

• $250,000 to the Field Offices and Services program for the purchase of equipment for the Columbia County State Patrol Post
• $250,000 to the Public Safety Training Center to fund expenses for the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy

The Board of Regents:

• $360,000 to the Public Service/Special Funding Initiatives program for the Georgia Water Planning and Policy Center at Albany State University and Georgia Southern University
• $200,000 to the Teaching program for the planning and implementation of a program at Kennesaw State University for disadvantaged youth

Department of Technical and Adult Education:

• $25,000 to the Economic Development (QuickStart) program for Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC) job retraining program for Atlanta Technical College
• $250,000 to the Technical Education program for the creation of a college and technical facility in Catoosa County at Bentley Place

Department of Transportation:

• $5,200,000 to the Airport Aid program for the Paulding County Regional Airport ($4,000,000), Cherokee County Airport Authority ($700,000), and the Glynn County Airport Commission ($500,000)

The General Obligation Debt Sinking Fund:

• $683,200 to finance educational facilities for county and independent school systems through the State Board of Education specifically for the design and construction of a charter school to be operated by the Cobb County School System through the issuance of $8,000,000 in 20-year bonds
• $1,155,000 to finance educational facilities for county and independent school systems through the State Board of Education specifically for career and vocational equipment per House Bill 905 through the issuance of $5,000,000 in 5-year bonds
• $657,580 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Transportation, specifically for rail lines for Lyerly to Coosa, Nunez to Vidalia, Ardmore to Sylvania, St Augustine Road Rail Switching Yard Expansion and McNatt Boulevard Extension rail crossing through the issuance of $7,700,000 in 20-year bonds
• $170,800 to finance projects and facilities for the Department of Transportation, specifically for the construction of a welcome center for Tallulah Falls on the Rabun County side through the issuance of $2,000,000 in 20-year bonds

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

GA Gets $5 Million Workforce Development Grant

The funding will support two Georgia Work Ready regions affected by the Army's multi-year Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao gave the grant to Governor Sonny Perdue, U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R), and U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson(R) in a ceremony in Atlanta.

The funds will assist in planned expansion of Fort Benning and the transitions of Fort Gillem, Fort McPherson and the Navy Supply Corps School, as part of regional workforce development projects.

“Over the years, Georgia has shown its deep commitment to support our military troops and their families,” Perdue said. “This grant will help ensure that Georgia’s bases impacted by the BRAC process continue to be valuable assets for our state.”

• Fort Benning will get $3 million to develop a workforce for industrial construction; automotive maintenance and aerospace advanced manufacturing; and information and communication technologies
• Fort Gillem, Fort McPherson, Navy Supply Corps School will get the remaining $2 million to transition the workforce at these facilities with a focus on new jobs associated with the life sciences industry cluster, according to a statement from the Governor's Office.
  

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the BRAC project, and its effect on the state.

Benning BRAC Planning Group Meets

(Courtesy Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce)

A coalition of ten Chattahoochee Valley counties met today to hammer out details of a massive program to bring tens of thousands of soldiers and their families to Fort Benning and Columbus.

The army's Base Realignment and Closure program – BRAC for short – will transfer some 40,000 troops from Ft. Knox, Kentucky by 2011.

A consortium known as The Valley Partnership is planning the infrastructure for the influx that will affect ten counties in Georgia, and three across the Chattahoochee River in Alabama.

Officials began working on a Regional Growth Management Plan just after the New Year. They're examining a 35-mile radius around the army training base to coordinate and assess the projected effects of the move on the area over the next 20-years. They include new highways, housing, schools, utilities, and a score of other issues.

Columbus Chamber of Commerce President Mike Gaymon, speaking to the Chattahoochee Valley group, Jan., 23, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Mike Gaymon, president of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce:

“Highways, for example; buildings, for example. Where are these houses going to go, where do these subdivision need to go? Is the water and sewer there? And we know that there are a lot of areas, where there's no water and sewer... so, it's big. It touches every fabric and part of these counties we'll be working with.”

Local officials say the Department of Defense move – the biggest such peacetime personnel and materiel transfer in army history – will bring an estimated two billion dollars in capital investment to the area. In addition, the DoD is assisting the funding of the effort.

Ron Roth, vice president of Science Applications International Corporation, is in charge of the project's planning and integration:

“The Department of Defense – The Office of Economic Adjustment provides funding for communities that are affected by BRAC decisions. Columbus and the surrounding area has revieved the largest grant ever: 3.3 million dollars - so that's a pretty big deal.”

J. Mac Holladay, CEO of Market Street Services consultants, is crunching the research numbers:

“We are going to be specifically looking at the housing needs that this is going to bring to the region; we're going to be helping out on the educational needs, in terms of K-to-12, and higher education and what that's going to mean. The whole team is really working on about 16 different tasks.”

The project will affect Chattahoochee, Harris, Muscogee, Marion, Stewart, Talbot and Taylor counties in Georgia, and Barbour, Lee and Russel in Alabama.

“It has the largest regional impact I've ever seen. So I think it's that need for really looking at it in total, that's an important part of the project,” according to Holladay.

Projected BRAC growth timeline. Click on graph for full-size image. (Courtesy Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the BRAC project.

Traffic-fighting Group Focusing on Military Drivers

Georgia's Clean Air Campaign, which has been setting up car pools for Atlanta commuters for over a decade is setting their sites on another target: The soldiers and civilians packing state military bases.

Military officials at Warner Robins Air Force Base near Macon, and at Fort Benning near Columbus say the response to the new RideShare program has been strong.

Polly Gustafson of Fort Benning’s Public Directorate, which administers the program says they are looking ahead to the over 30,000 personnel due as a part of a nationwide base relocation program:

"Fort Benning, of course, is going to grow because of BRAC and the coming of the armor school, and so we need to work on our transportation demand and get some of these cars off the road which will, in turn benefit our air quality here by reducing our air emissions."

Gustafson says 115 of Fort Benning’s civilian commuters signed up with the program this month, and that they intend to expand the program to military personnel in January. Over 1,500 soldiers and employees at Robins signed on during a weeklong event in October.

Clean Air Campaign spokesman Candace Mccaffery says the RideShare program pays carpoolers three dollars a day, up to $180 over three months.

(With The Associated Press)

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Report Cites Rise in Costs of Moving Bases

The cost of closing two Georgia military bases could cost as much as ten billion dollars more than initially expected, according to federal officials.

In 2005, the U-S Department of Defense estimated that closing Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem would cost about 21 billion dollars.

According to the U-S Government Office of Accountability, that number now looks more like 31 billion dollars - an increase of about 48 percent more.

Plans are to turn Fort McPherson into a scientific research park.

Local officials say the Fort Gillem real estate south of Atlanta in Forest Park will attract strong interest from the private sector and is best-suited for a mixed-use development blending residential and commercial uses.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the military's Base Realignment and Closure Program - BRAC.

GAO Report: Sharp Spike in Army Move Costs

Maneuver Center of Excellence. (Fort Benning)

A new report says the massive military relocation project for Fort Benning will have a much larger price tag than previous estimates.

The Base Realignment and Closure Program – BRAC, for short – was projected to cost taxpayers 21-billion dollars. Now, the figure is nearly 700 million dollars higher.

The Army says the added costs are for roads, sewers and infrastructure for the BRAC project which includes opening some bases, closing others, and moving 123,000 service personnel nationwide.

Georgia is the focus of a major BRAC initiative — moving the Army's Armor school from Ft. Knox, Kentucky to Fort Benning, near Columbus. It involves bringing some 30,000 troops and their families to the Columbus area.

The GAO says it may be the most expensive move in US military history. A Pentagon official says nationwide BRAC will, in his words, “enhance defense capabilities."

Click here for more GPB coverage about Ft. Benning.

Group Offers Soldiers Low-Cost Housing Loans

"Soldiers who protect the American dream can now get help buying into the American dream," according to a Columbus housing association.

NeighborWorks Columbus, a local organization that supports low-cost housing, says the organization's new Hallock Soldiers Fund offers counseling, down-payment assistance and low-interest loans.

NeighborWorks President Kathy Williams says the aid is specifically aimed at Ft. Benning personnel:

"We're trying to assist the lower-ranking soldier families, especially those who are going to be coming to Ft. Benning through the BRAC process. moving around from base-to-base for soldiers can often create for soldiers, obstacles to home ownership... it gives them an opportunity to really be able to invest in the community and build an asset for their family.”

Williams says none of the 483 Columbus residents who have taken part in the Neighborworks assistance program in the last five years have fallen into foreclosure.

Military homebuyers who have utilized the fund, NeighborWorks and Ft. Benning officials will be available for details at a press conference on-post on Friday at 1:30 pm. The event will be held at 7371 Ingersoll Street.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Ft. Benning and the BRAC realignment.

Chattahoochee Valley: BRAC meeting

The third and final round of public meetings to discuss the progress of the Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) and its impact on the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) will be held in late October and early November in each of the seven participating counties located within a five-mile zone around Fort Benning's perimeter: Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Stewart and Talbot in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama.

This round of meetings will be conducted in an open-house format with numerous maps for residents to view and experts available to answer specific JLUS questions, according to the organizers.

Details of the JLUS visit are here: http://www.thevalleypartnership.com/jlus/.

Click here for more GPB coverage of the BRAC plan, and here, for reports about Ft. Benning.

'Warfighters' gather at Ft. Benning

Ft. Benning: honor guard at Airborne Walk, with jump towers in background. (Dave Bender)

Fort Benning gears up to host the annual Infantry Warfighting Conference this Tuesday through Thursday. Top Army brass will be in attendance, as well as a bevy of military guests.

A Columbus resident, who is recognized in the Ranger Hall of Fame, will receive an award. Post commander Maj. Gen. Walt Wojdakowski is slated to deliver an address on the "State of the Infantry."

Other senior and field commanders are set to discuss, inter alia, the coming BRAC realignment project, and their experiences in combat with renovated, "modular" force deployments. Over a hundred distributors and organizations will display their wares during the event.

Click here for more on the conference. Click here for more GPB News coverage and features about Ft. Benning.

House approves $1.2 million for Ft. Benning

Congress has approved a bill giving Ft. Benning $1.2 million dollars to upgrade facilities.

The earmarked funds are part of nearly one hundred and sixteen million dollars approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Those funds are slated for improving military housing, and bettering family and community services at the sprawling post.

The funds are part of the over one-billion-dollar 2008 Defense Appropriations bill. The money will go towards re-stationing military forces now deployed in Germany and other countries, back in the US.

The bill is in addition to the ongoing BRAC -- Base Realignment and Closure -- program.

The nearby National Infantry Museum, now under construction will also receive over seven million dollars in aid, as part of the overall package.

The entire House and Senate must still pass the bill.

Columbus: brass tacks at Ft. Benning BRAC session

Military and civilian officials at BRAC session.
(Dave Bender)
Over 100 Georgia and Alabama officials, and federal and military representatives met in Columbus on Monday to discuss the army's planned Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

The army plans to move an armor school, currently based at Ft. Knox, KY to Ft. Benning within the next three to five years.

The comprehensive morning session met at Columbus State University's Cunningham Center for Leadership. On the agenda were schools, housing, health care, transportation, public services, ecological, economic impact, as well as funding issues related to the move.

Colonel Keith Lovejoy, Fort Benning Garrison Commander of Fort Benning, told GPB News they planned to cover issues of anticipated base growth: “in terms of soldiers coming to the base; what kind of construction we're going to do; effects on the local roads, the networks... the different utilities... basically just making sure the community is aware of what's coming and when it's going to be here – and then also, to answer some of the concerns of the local community.”

The army expects over 30,000 troops, and their families, contractors and service providers to move into the Columbus and Chattahoochee Valley area.