BRAC Moves Near Completion, but Impact Far From Over

Huntsville Times – In 2011, BRAC will be finished, but not over.

Though the deadline for relocation of more than 4,500 federal positions to Redstone Arsenal under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure decision is in September, defense and aerospace companies are expected to expand or locate in the area for years to come, creating another 5,000 jobs to support the work on the arsenal, said Joe Ritch, chairman of the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee.

Another 9,000 indirect jobs are expected in hospitals, restaurants, schools, and other areas.

“I think we’re going to see BRAC ending, but then the contractor world will start growing as they see the need to be close to the command,” he said. “We’re starting to see the companies rolling into town. Sometimes they make an announcement, sometimes they don’t.”

Harris Corp., for example, was awarded a $77 million contract to provide information technology services for the Army Materiel Command headquarters being built at the arsenal, and has opened offices here. They say they will eventually have about 30 full-time positions.

Construction for the expansion of the Von Braun Complex for the Missile Defense Agency, AMC/U.S. Army Security Assistance Command headquarters, and other BRAC-related projects is on track, said Redstone Arsenal Garrison Commander Col. John Hamilton.

“All of the BRAC-related actions are going extremely well,” he said. “We are on schedule for completion of those tasks by September 2011, as required by the law, but it’s important for us all to realize that the BRAC moves are only a portion of the larger growth story for Redstone Arsenal and the surrounding communities.”

“You certainly can look at BRAC as a catalyst for a period of dynamic growth here starting in 2005 and continuing well beyond 2011,” Hamilton said.

Since the BRAC announcement in 2005, he noted, decisions have been made to station other Department of Defense and non-DoD organizations on Redstone Arsenal.

A prime example, says Ritch, is the Army’s decision to move the Contracting Command and Expeditionary Contracting Command headquarters and its approximately 300 soldiers and civilians to Redstone Arsenal to be near AMC, even though that relocation wasn’t mandated under BRAC.

Other agencies might be under consideration to relocate, he said, and local officials stand ready to help the arsenal make the case for moving.

“It’s important that we continue to understand their needs, and do our best to make sure those needs are met,” Ritch said.