NEW SPECIAL FORCES BASE ALMOST READY TO MOVE IN

As you will see below, the new Army Base is completed and plans are being made to move in to the base and many are already looking for homes. The word from the Army is new home construction is the preference. As I have noted many times, this group of military has a much different housing need than our traditional military being assigned to Eglin. Therefore, changes to the style, size, location, must be addressed when providing for this group of military.
Countdown begun for 7th Special Forces arrival
Work on much of Army cantonment done
December 15, 2010 11:41 AM
By John Parrott Crestview News Bulletin Military Reporter
Next year, the U.S. Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) cantonment west of the Duke Field will be fully manned by its new tenants. The land on which the cantonment, or installation, sits was populated by bear, deer, scrub oak and pine in March 2009 before construction on the cantonment began in earnest. The work is the culmination of four years of planning and a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) hearing that prompted the pending relocation of the 7th Special Forces from Fort Bragg N.C. to their new home south of Crestview. Much of the work on the one-mile-square administrative complex is complete. “As you can see, all the BRAC mandated buildings are up and, in fact, nearly all of them are in the final stages of completion,” said Joey Walker, site engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “In some cases the only thing we are waiting on is communications hookups and paint, and of course the furniture,” said 96th Test Wing civil engineer George Newman, who is Eglin’s lead man overseeing the construction site. Plans include four 96-bed dormitories for unmarried soldiers, along with amenities such as a mini mall, outlying shops, a dining facility, a chapel and a small medical clinic. The cantonment marks the first time in the 7th Special Forces' 67-year history that facilities have been built to suit their specifications, Lt. Col. Joe Tyron, commander of engineering for the Special Forces, said in a March interview. "We've had a lot of user input from top to bottom," he said. "We're looking at a world-class facility." The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) includes 2,200 soldiers. The bulk of the soldiers are expected to arrive between April and September of next year. An additional 3,800 family members are expected to accompany them. “The first tenant we expect to arrive is the 3rd battalion,” Walker said. “Afterward the moves go faster and in faster stages. But I expect the 3rd to be here before summer.” It is not just the military that has been busy in advance of the move. The Okaloosa County Water and Sewer department completed in November a 14-month project to install a $5.2 million sewer system consisting of an underground lift station and nearly 17 miles of water pipe. Sewage from the base will be piped south to the county’s new Arbennie Pritchett Water Reclamation Facility in Fort Walton Beach. Officials with Okaloosa County and the city of Crestview were among a group that traveled to Fort Bragg earlier this year to help prepare the solders for their move. “We may not see the soldier that often but we will see his family,” Crestview Mayor David Cadle said. “We will shop with them, eat with them and go to church with them and they will be sending their kids to our schools.” Business leaders are also ramping up for the influx“They will also be buying or renting houses, cars and beach front property,” realtor Brett House said of the members of the 7th SFG (A). House said the Army group and Eglin Air Force Base’s allocation of 59 Joint Strike Fighters will also provide new business opportunities. “It’s no secret the 7th Special Forces and the Joint Strike Fighters are a business magnet,” House said. “In just the past few weeks we’ve had several high dollar investment inquiries, so, it is no wonder they are making statements about how this area is about to explode economically.” Unlike other services where members rotate from base to base every few years, members of the 7th SFG (A) may spend their entire military career in that one location