7TH SPECIAL FORCES MOVING RAPIDLY MORE WAYS THAN ONE

The following is an excerpt from the local newspaper at Fort Bragg. Some notes to gather from this is, one, 2010 is the "home stretch" and "completion deadline" is 2011. The word from the powers to be is, they want their soldiers in place in the new Army Base by May 2011. Reason: Get the families involved in the community and kids ready for the next school year.


Published: 09:31 PM, Sun Dec 27, 2009
Buzz on BRAC: On track as we enter a new year
Henry Cuningham

Two of the biggest remaining BRAC projects for Fort Bragg seem to be on track as we enter 2010. The coming year is approaching the "home stretch" before the 2011 completion deadline. The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment law gave the Defense Department six years to complete the programs. The $292 million headquarters complex for Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command is where it needs to be on the road to completion, said Dan Davis, resident engineer for the project for the Army Corps of Engineers.
"We are scheduled to be 42 percent, and we are at 42 percent," Davis said.
The contractor, Hensel Phelps, put the final steel beam in place earlier this month. Prefabricated panels give the appearance of rapid progress. The four-star and three-star commands are moving to Fort Bragg from Fort McPherson in Atlanta. The other big project involves people leaving Fort Bragg. That's the 7th Special Forces Group's move to Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach, Fla.. Lt. Gen. John Mulholland, commander of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said he has made several trips to check progress, and construction is maybe even ahead of schedule. "There's no question in my mind that five or six years from now it will be the envy of Army Special Forces," he said. "They are going to have all-new ranges tailored for their needs." He said his two biggest concerns are ensuring that the unit is able to continue doing its military job - "because the mission doesn't go away" - and that the move goes smoothly for family members. The 7th Group is making combat rotations to Afghanistan while taking care of its responsibilities in Latin America, its traditional area of operations. The group has about 2,000 soldiers and 4,000-plus family members. "It's sizeable for us, small in the context of BRAC and Bragg and other units moving around," Mulholland said.Got a tip or a question on BRAC? Contact military editor Henry Cuningham at cuninghamh@fayobserver.com or 486-3585.