WHO IS THIS 7TH SPECIAL FORCES GROUP (READ ON)

The following is an update from the Okaloosa Economic Development Council. As you will read, this is one of the area's most unique military unit movements in History, and with such, comes a great responsibility of the local community to prepare with moral support, housing, and recreation. With this said, a great opportunity is here for our area. Also, don't forget, the F-35 Training Program is happening concurrently, as well. THIS IS A MAJOR ANOMALLY, SO DON'T TRY TO CHART TRENDS. THOUSANDS OF NEW MILITARY PERSONNEL ARE BEING ORDERED HERE. PERIOD. EGLIN HAS DEMOLISHED THOUSANDS OF INADEQUATE HOMES IN RECENT MONTHS WITH NO PLANS OF CONSTRUCTING ANY SOON. GOVERNMENT WANTS MILITARY PERSONNEL TO BE INFUSED INTO THE COMMUNITY. IT IS BEST FOR ALL. NOTE: THIS IS FROM A FORMER MILITARY HOUSING DIRECTOR.

7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Prepares for Move at
BRAC Town Hall Meeting - Fayetteville, North Carolina
More than 2000 Special Forces soldiers and their families met with community members from Northwest Florida for a series of town hall meetings at the Crown Expo Center in Fayetteville, NC, on May 11th and 12th. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure law requires that the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) move to Eglin Air Force Base by September 15, 2011.
The 7th Special Forces Group, a component of the Army Special Forces Command (Airborne), is an experienced unit of 2,200 soldiers including 53 women (primarily serving in intelligence and communications). The group, which is scheduled to begin arriving in the local area in 10 months, will be accompanied by 4,300 family members. The average age of its officers is 40 years and of its enlisted men 32. They have served an average of 20 years and 11 years respectively. The great majority of the Soldiers are married, have completed one to three years of college and include a substantial number who hold college degrees. A large number of the soldiers are multi-lingual. For most of the group, an assignment rotation of seven months in Afghanistan followed by seven months at home is normal and, as might be expected, stress is a problem.

The unit has been anticipating the move to the Emerald Coast since the decision was made to implement the 2005 Base Closure and Realignment law. That anticipation is now reaching an end as Soldiers and their families enter the final year of the transition. While some are eager to relocate to Florida and into their new state-of-the art facilities being constructed in Okaloosa County, others are more hesitant to uproot their families from the Fort Bragg area and replant them in Florida's Emerald Coast. Jobs will be lost, houses sold, children displaced from homes and schools, and the potential for the interruption of lifelong friend-ships is great.