Community shows support for Fort Jackson

By Susanne Kappler, Fort Jackson LeaderAugust 14, 2014

Community shows support for Fort Jackson
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Aug. 14, 2014) -- Community members throughout the Midlands have pledged their support for Fort Jackson since the Army announced in March what the impact of continued force reductions could mean for the installation.

The Army is currently on track to reduce the strength of its active duty force from 562,000 to 490,000, but sequestration-level budget cuts could necessitate a reduction to 420,000 active troops by 2019.

Those cuts could force the elimination of 2,400 military and 700 civilian positions on Fort Jackson, according to the Army's most recent Programmatic Environmental Assessment, or PEA, which was conducted for more than 30 military installations. Fort Jackson was not part of the Army's original PEA in 2013, but was added this year in the Army's supplemental PEA, or SPEA, in light of the possibility of automatic spending cuts, commonly known as sequestration, in 2016.

The community is invited to respond to the analysis until Aug. 25 by writing directly to the U.S. Army Environmental Command. However, community leaders have started consolidating the effort to gather support.

"The city of Columbia, specifically the chamber of commerce, is really taking the lead on organizing the response back to the Department of the Army. They have gone out in all different sectors of the local community to achieve that feedback," said Col. Daniel Beatty, Fort Jackson chief of staff. "I'm not sure there's any other community that has done that to date -- at least in this much of an organized fashion."

Beatty said it was refreshing to see the civilian community taking such an active involvement.

"I think it's absolutely fantastic that they're coming together, congealing as a community to provide that feedback," he said.

Although the initial commenting period ends Aug. 25, community members will have another option to voice their opinion early next year in a public listening session in which DA officials will be present. The date, time and location of the session have yet to be determined.

Beatty explained that after the feedback has been gathered and analyzed, the Army will conduct a military values analysis, which will examine the installation's infrastructure, and an analysis of the post's operational and strategic importance before making a final decision about possible cuts on Fort Jackson.

"As we're finding more and more often, in some cases people only know that we do Basic Combat Training. And I'm not sure they understand the plethora of other missions that we have," he said. "This year, for example, we're training about 42,000 basic combat trainees who are coming through here and another 29,000 training and education population students. It's really mind-boggling when you think about how big and how complicated that actual training process can be."

He reiterated that the projected cuts outlined in the SPEA are for assessment purposes and that a decision may not be made until the Army's final troop strength will be determined.

"We think Fort Jackson is well-poised for a training and education base," Beatty said. "We could do a lot for the Army. We're set up very, very well and continue to update barracks and (other infrastructure). I think in the future that will bode Fort Jackson very well."

Editor's note: Written comments about the SPEA may be submitted to: U.S. Army Environmental Command, ATTN: SPEA Public Comments, 2450 Connell Road (Building 2264), Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-7664; or by email to usarmy.jbsa.aec.nepa@mail.mil

The SPEA can be accessed at: http://aec.army.mil/Services/Support/NEPA/Documents.aspx.

The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce petition to support Fort Jackson can be found at www.columbiachamber.com.

Related Links:

Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Assessment documents

Army.mil: Fort Jackson, local community join forces in face of possible sequestration

Army.mil: Army invites public to comment on environmental impacts of possible force reductions