Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Fayetteville (NC) Observer
June 21, 2008 By Henry Cuningham, Military editor
Base realignment is on track to meet its 2011 deadline, the Army’s top general said Friday at FortBragg.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said he believes Congress will provide the necessary funding despite earlier threats of a funding cut.
“There are a lot of things that could unhinge it, but it is something we have worked very carefully,” the Army chief of staff said.
The 2005 federal law on military base realignment and closure mandated sweeping changes throughout the U.S. military by September 2011.
“We are deploying and redeploying soldiers and trying to get the construction to match the deployment schedules as well as the BRAC time schedule,” Casey said.
Under the law, the headquarters for Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command must move from Fort McPherson in Atlanta to Fort Bragg. The Army has selected four finalists to design and build the 650,000-square-foot headquarters for the two commands on Fort Bragg at a cost of about $300 million. The Army will announce the final award this summer and break ground in the fall. Plans call for construction to be completed by early summer 2011.
Under the law, the 7th Special Forces Group must move from Fort Bragg to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. An environmental impact study has been finalized, and construction probably would be done in a bare location. However, Fort Bragg is making plans to have the space available for other units that are growing.
“Right now, it’s on track Armywide,” Casey said.
Casey also told reporters the Army “is out of balance. We are stretched by the fact that we didn’t have a big enough Army to do the things the nation asked us to do on Sept. 11.”
The Army has “four imperatives to put us back in balance,” but it will take three or four years, he said.
“We have to sustain our soldiers and families,” he said. “We have to continue to prepare soldiers for success in the current conflict.”
The Army also has to “reset” soldiers and equipment after deployments and continue to reorganize to handle 21st-century threats, he said.
Steps include expanding the Army by 75,000 soldiers by 2010, paying bonuses to keep captains in the Army, and reducing deployments from 15 months to 12 months.
“The time that the soldiers are spending home between deployments will gradually increase,” he said. “We expect to get to an average of about 18 months next year and by 2011, we expect to get to almost 24 months between deployments.”
June 21, 2008 By Henry Cuningham, Military editor
Base realignment is on track to meet its 2011 deadline, the Army’s top general said Friday at FortBragg.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said he believes Congress will provide the necessary funding despite earlier threats of a funding cut.
“There are a lot of things that could unhinge it, but it is something we have worked very carefully,” the Army chief of staff said.
The 2005 federal law on military base realignment and closure mandated sweeping changes throughout the U.S. military by September 2011.
“We are deploying and redeploying soldiers and trying to get the construction to match the deployment schedules as well as the BRAC time schedule,” Casey said.
Under the law, the headquarters for Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command must move from Fort McPherson in Atlanta to Fort Bragg. The Army has selected four finalists to design and build the 650,000-square-foot headquarters for the two commands on Fort Bragg at a cost of about $300 million. The Army will announce the final award this summer and break ground in the fall. Plans call for construction to be completed by early summer 2011.
Under the law, the 7th Special Forces Group must move from Fort Bragg to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. An environmental impact study has been finalized, and construction probably would be done in a bare location. However, Fort Bragg is making plans to have the space available for other units that are growing.
“Right now, it’s on track Armywide,” Casey said.
Casey also told reporters the Army “is out of balance. We are stretched by the fact that we didn’t have a big enough Army to do the things the nation asked us to do on Sept. 11.”
The Army has “four imperatives to put us back in balance,” but it will take three or four years, he said.
“We have to sustain our soldiers and families,” he said. “We have to continue to prepare soldiers for success in the current conflict.”
The Army also has to “reset” soldiers and equipment after deployments and continue to reorganize to handle 21st-century threats, he said.
Steps include expanding the Army by 75,000 soldiers by 2010, paying bonuses to keep captains in the Army, and reducing deployments from 15 months to 12 months.
“The time that the soldiers are spending home between deployments will gradually increase,” he said. “We expect to get to an average of about 18 months next year and by 2011, we expect to get to almost 24 months between deployments.”