Military building boom expected

By Chris Casteel

Published: June 12, 2005

WASHINGTON - More than $350 million in construction would be necessary to accommodate the changes on Oklahoma military bases and in some communities as part of the Pentagon's base realignment and closure plans.

According to Defense Department documents, Fort Sill, the Army artillery post in southwest Oklahoma, would have a construction boom in the next two years, with $245 million in projects, if the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission approves the Pentagon's proposals.

A proposed Army Reserve Center in Broken Arrow would cost more than $37 million, while Oklahoma City would get a $23 million Army Reserve Center.

Smaller construction projects would take place at Tinker Air Force Base, Vance Air Force Base in Enid, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, Air National Guard stations in Tulsa and Oklahoma City and at sites in Muskogee and Norman.

"Oklahoma military installations scored big in this year's BRAC process and if the defense secretary's recommendations are implemented, the economic activity resulting from that decision will have a long-lasting positive impact on our state," said Rep. Tom Cole, whose congressional district includes Fort Sill, Tinker Air Force Base and Norman.

"The recommended gains in manpower and missions will spur many related construction projects and additional jobs. This is nothing but good news for the future of our military installations and the future of our state."

The military construction estimates are part of the data used by Defense Department officials in making their decisions about what bases to close or what activities to move from one base to another. That data has been released by the Pentagon in the past several days, along with detailed information about how policy makers worked through the complex issues involved in the base closure process.

Four of Oklahoma's major military installations would gain work under the Pentagon's closure and realignment proposals. Only Altus Air Force Base would have a net loss of jobs, and that would be minor.

In addition, the U.S. Army is planning a major reorganization in every state of its Reserve and National Guard operations. The Army wants to build Reserve Centers on bases or in larger cities and consolidate small units from nearby communities into those new centers.

Members of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission are reviewing the Pentagon's recommendations, traveling around the country to affected bases and holding hearings.

The commission can change any of the Pentagon's recommendations before sending its final report to President Bush. That report is due Sept. 8.

Fort Sill to be active
Fort Sill has been reaping millions in military construction money in the past few years for family housing and other projects.

The proposed base closure changes would make the construction industry even more active on the post.

The Defense Department wants to move the Air Defense Artillery school from Fort Bliss to Fort Sill, which already has the Army's Field Artillery School. The combined schools would be called the Net Fires Center.

According to the data generated by the Defense Department officials working on the base closure recommendations, the movement of the Air Defense Artillery school from Fort Bliss would require about 1.4 million square feet of building space at Fort Sill.

The cost estimate for the construction associated with the move is $188 million.

Most of the construction would be for family housing, barracks, instruction and classroom space, administration and headquarters buildings.

The movement of an Air Defense Artillery Unit to Fort Sill would require about $17.6 million in new construction, according to the Pentagon documents, for headquarters buildings, a vehicle maintenance shop, a dining hall and an exchange store.

Court Newkirk, economic development director for the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce, said the organization was "not going to draw any conclusions or assumptions" about the military construction necessary to accommodate the moves. Newkirk said there still are questions about how the missions being moved from Fort Bliss would be "configured" on the post.

At Tinker, a new aviation operations building would be required as part of the proposal to move four KC-135 aircraft -- along with the operations and maintenance manpower -- from an Air Force Guard station in Portland, Oregon.

The estimated cost of construction at Tinker over the next two years is $7.8 million.