Posted on 05/06/2006 6:05:23 AM PDT by SLB
Army cautions figure is snapshot and could change
ATLANTA - Army surveys show that 64 percent of civilian employees whose jobs will move as a result of Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations would follow the job, the Army's BRAC chief said Thursday.
That's a snapshot of Army employees' feelings now, as the results of the 2005 BRAC begin to unfold, and isn't a guarantee, said Col. Bob Derrick, speaking to about 500 community leaders at the Department of Defense BRAC conference "Responding to Change."
"That's the demographics we have today, but those could change," said Derrick, who is in charge of BRAC logistics for the Army.
By law, BRAC is to be completed by Sept. 15, 2011, Derrick said, and the numbers of people moving could fluctuate over the next five years, with children growing older and people opting to take other jobs or retiring.
"Remember, BRAC moves slots, not people," he said.
Redstone Arsenal is slated to gain three Army command headquarters, a majority of the Pentagon's missile defense work, a recruiting brigade and helicopter work.
The BRAC moves will result in Redstone gaining 4,700 Defense Department jobs, and officials estimate another 5,000 private contractor jobs might follow the major commands to Huntsville.
Maj. Gen. Jim Pillsbury, commanding general of the Army Aviation and Missile Command on Redstone, predicted last month at an economic development summit that 50 to 60 percent of workers affected by BRAC would move.
Overall, military officials have said, agencies relocated by previous BRACs have lost 60 to 70 percent of their work force in the move. Huntsville defied that trend in 1997, when 60 percent of the former Aviation and Troop Command employees moved to Huntsville from St. Louis as a result of the 1995 BRAC.
"When I tell people about Huntsville, Madison County and the Tennessee Valley, I tell them there are no negatives" in living here, Pillsbury said last month.
This community, Pillsbury said, "has helped sell itself and, if (the workers) take a chance on the quality of life here, they would agree with my assessment."
Huntsville and Madison County leaders are waiting for more detailed information on how many people might move to North Alabama from the Washington, D.C., and Atlanta areas, said Dave Hargrove, chairman of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
"We are continuing to seek profiles and job descriptions concerning the BRAC decisions and plans," Hargrove said Thursday. "It's an evolving situation with shifting details."
Hargrove said local officials' decisions about new schools or school improvements, as well as road, sewer and water expansions, depend in part on getting updated numbers and surveys concerning military and civilian workers who plan to move to North Alabama.
Derrick encouraged community leaders to press local military commanders and elected officials for updated details and to stay on top of military construction and staff relocation timelines.
"There have been some very correct statements from (commands) saying they can't move unless we get X number of dollars" for construction, Derrick said. "These are priorities. Continue to engage your local commands for these details."
Derrick said at least 160,000 people could move in part because of BRAC and because of decisions to move troops back to the United States from bases overseas.
"A few communities might see up to 20,000 families being relocated there," Derrick said. "That takes planning, and we are working diligently to refine the numbers so we can have an idea of what the exact numbers will be."
Another challenge is the sheer size of construction projects, Derrick said. Pentagon planners have been concerned that massive build-ups at Army posts such as Redstone; Fort Knox, Ky.; and Fort Benning, Ga., might be more than local construction firms could handle.
In some cases, Derrick said, there is up to $700 million in construction alone needed to meet BRAC needs. "That's unprecedented," he said.
Redstone will need about $500 million for new construction and another $500 million for road improvements.
"We have worked with the (Army Corps of Engineers) at installations to see if we can get that many concrete trucks through the front gate," Derrick said. "We have shared our plans with industry and have been assured they can ramp up quickly enough to meet (construction) demands."
One solution is to build headquarters and other Army facilities over time, which also allows Congress to spread money over a few years instead of one budget year. Most of the construction will take place in 2008 and 2009, Derrick said, with commands and units completing moves in 2010 and 2011.
I am not posting as much as I used to since FR is now banning so many of the old FReepers, but this article needed to be read and commented on.
Charleston, SC economy shifted from a military-technical to service-tourism with BRAC-03. But it is still 'healthy'. I took early retirement and moved far far away.
The figure looks high to me. Anecdotes that I have heard point toward lots of retirements. Many of those folks will later turn up in the work force as contractors. If you have the skills, you can live wherever you want as long as you are willing to get on an airplane. I've been doing it for 12 years and 1 million miles.
Developers of armor systems will not be a good fit at Recruiting Command. They may have to retire or move to Benning. Time to dust off the resumes.
A sad state of affairs. Those who are gone had sometime useful and interesting to say. Many of those who remain or who have lately joined are inarticulate morons who can only piece together a few incoherent trite phrases that only serve to illustrate their complete lack of understanding. Ineveitable, I suppose.
> More like 25% at the most are even considering the move.
My experience in private sector was that only 5% moved,
even when the the job was assured and the company paid
for the move ... of course, there was a generous severance
offer in those days ...
>>>>Of the 225, only a very small handfull are even considering the move. I want to see the illegal immigrants start to work as reasearch analysts.
Ft. Bliss will be a hard sell...
Right now, they're thinking of moving the Cystal City jobs to Ft. Belvior. Which would make it very feasible for me to move to where the townhomes start at about $100K less.
>>>>I want to see the illegal immigrants start to work as reasearch analysts.
Yeah, we've given them our garment and agricultural industries. WHy not our highly classified P(H)/P(K) tables for $$$M weapons systems as well. Good idea; it would save us a fortune, not having to pay the government's extortive wrap-rate.
Some of the Ph/Pk tables that I have seen look like they have been built by illegal immigrants, or at least modified by illegal immigrants posing as PM's.
This past week there was an announcement that contractor clearance investigations were stopped. Let's see, civil servants are being forced out by moves, the contractors who would take their places now can't due to not being able to get a background check and clearance. Wonder where this leads to?
I have 4 years to my first retirement milestone and 10 to the next. I am aiming for the 10 year one, but are adjusting to the 4 year goal.
Nam Vet
Are they really being banned?
Nissan is moving their U.S. HQ from LA to Nashville.
An insider I know in LA expects the numbers to be in the 10-20% range.
Thanks for the ping.
I'm still here for the news analysis, but am somewhat dismayed, by that, as well as the non-response from on-high about the fact that the GA flag is two flags back, and continuing to run the old one seems to have no useful purpose.
Also, I need to ping you to a thread.
Sorry to hear of your surgery. I am having huge trouble in seeing the keybaed (vision all most gone).
Sounds like something you'd hear from a highbrow pseudo-intellectual Democrat. Maybe you'd be happier over at the Huffington blog.
DuckFan-
You do know you just proved his point, right?
Unless you were kidding?
I'm sure that he was just kidding
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