7TH SPECIAL FORCES GROUP ARE ON THEIR WAY

The Army is coming. The Army is coming. One of the final hurdles is completed and the troops are on their way. Infrastructure is either being planned or all ready being started. This is great news for the Crestview and surrounding area. The below was a story released on Saturday, November 22, 2008.


7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to have new home west of Duke Field
By MONA MOORE Florida Freedom Newspapers 315-4443 monam@nwfdailynews.com

EGLIN AFB — The Air Force signed a Record of Decision on Thursday to bring the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) to Eglin Air Force Base as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure changes. An area four miles west of Duke Field will be the Army unit’s home. The 500-acre area spans from Duck Pond on the west to Gopher Creek on the east. With easy access to Duke Field for frequent deployments and room for expansion, the locations for the range and base were Eglin’s preferred choices. The 7th Special Forces Group’s base will include operations and maintenance facilities, a dining area and facilities for munitions storage and loading. The base will have dormitories but will not include family housing. The range will be a 10-minute drive or 30-minute walk from the Army base. Noise also played a factor in the decision. The location is outside Duke and Eglin’s 65-decibel average noise level area. That is important because many of the soldiers sleep during the day when air operations at Eglin are at the highest, Kathleen Ferguson, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, said Friday during a teleconference with media. Col. Bruce McClintock, commander of the 96th Air Base Wing, said the Record of Decision for the realignment of the Special Forces Group was the highlight of the day. “It’s just the next step for Eglin to become a premier installation,” he said. Construction of the dorms and compound will start in 2009. The cost will be $382 million. The Army will begin moving 2,200 soldiers and 4,600 family members from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Eglin in late spring. Relocations will continue through 2011.