People, Mission First in BRAC Moves

FORT BELVOIR, VA – When Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations were announced in May 2005, there were 24 different relocations and closure components that affected the Army Materiel Command (AMC). To execute this mission, the Command focused on balancing its critical world-wide logistical support mission while ensuring its soldiers, civilians and their families were prepared for a major reorganization that affected approximately 11,000 of its 70,000 people.

“To balance the mission and retain the institutional knowledge and skills of our people, we set out in 2005 to ensure we could keep as many people as possible, while accepting the fact that not everyone would make the transition to the new duty assignments,” said Kate Kelley, AMC BRAC Office chief. “We immediately arranged for temporary space at Redstone to get as many folks on board in Alabama as possible.”

About 1,400 of the nearly 11,000 BRAC-affected personnel are stationed at Fort Belvoir. According to AMC, more than 700 spaces have relocated to Redstone, AL, a combination of moves and new hires.

The Army Materiel Command’s mission is to develop, deliver, and sustain materiel to ensure a dominant joint force for the U.S. and our allies, with personnel in 49 states and 150 countries worldwide.

The U.S. Army Security Assistance Command, AMC’S subordinate command, became the first flag-level command to complete BRAC action in 2005 when it relocated from Belvoir to Redstone Arsenal, AL in 2009.

At Belvoir, the AMC BRAC Office works with Garrison leadership and backfilling incoming BRAC tenants to ensure the move is as seamless as possible, said Kelley.

“We’ve hosted planning and integration meetings to help create as little turbulence as possible,” she said. “The good news is that we’ve had a great partnership with the Fort Belvoir Deputy Garrison Commander for Transformation and BRAC Col. Mark Moffatt and incoming organizations that are backfilling our building.”

The AMC buildings will continue to be renovated and used to house personnel being relocated to Belvoir as part of BRAC. This group mainly consists of PEO-EIS, representing the only agency relocating to Belvoir from outside a 50-mile radius, from Fort Monmouth, NJ.

Following the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, AMC was moved from Eisenhower Avenue in 2003 to Belvoir to provide better security for the Command and its personnel.

“We are leaving a great military community on Fort Belvoir,” Kelley said, “and we are excited about becoming part of the Tennessee Valley that has already opened their arms and warmly welcomed us to their community.”