FORT LEE, Va. (July 2, 2009) -- The state-of-the-art Army Logistics University is celebrating its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, 11 a.m.
The $136-million complex spans more than 340,000 total square feet, and will be the center for Army logistics training.
Col. Shelley Richardson, former Army Logistics Management College commandant and now ALU president, said ALU is furnished and ready for staff and faculty to move in next week.
ALU consolidates more than 200 courses previously offered by five schools to educate sustainment leaders.
ALU will have three distinct colleges: the Army Logistics Management College, the Logistics Leader College and the Technical Logistics College, and a consolidated Logistics Noncommissioned Officer Academy.
Although all the schools won't come on line until 2011, Richardson said the student load will run about 1,700 by the end of this summer, and reach nearly 2,300 students daily after all of the schools have moved to ALU.
According to Pete Adler, ALMC strategic planner, about 190 ordnance students from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., are already at Fort Lee and represent the first student growth population for the installation. By the end of August, there will be about 900 students from APG and the Transportation School at Fort Eustis occupying the classrooms of ALU.
The building features state-of-the-art classrooms, said Richardson. Classrooms are completely customizable, from the actual size of the classroom to the desk setup. Other technology such as interactive whiteboards enable instructors to ensure students are getting the lesson objectives in many different ways.
While a logistics library has always been incorporated into the planning of ALU, it will also open its doors to the community. About a fifth of the library space will be used as a community library, said Terri Koyl, ALU librarian.
"Just think of the library as a public library," said Koyl. "It'll have current fiction, nonfiction and children's books - a recreational library."
Richardson said there will be 60 computer stations throughout the library as well as a language learning lab that will provide several computer stations for the sole purpose of learning a language.
"We would like to encourage the community to come to the university to check out the library to use it as a resource, not just for the community section of the library, but also for the logistics research capabilities we have," she said.
The Simulation Training Center is co-located with ALU. While the STC will support ALU with some training, the center is designed for exercises and training for units all over the world, said Richardson.
The STC supports simulation exercises, battle-lab experiments, knowledge-management events, lifelong learning and sustainment education and training courses. In addition, it hosts a state-of-the-art Model Command Post, and a world-class communications network capable of distributing exercises and events worldwide.
Other amenities inside the university include the new cafeteria and food court which will offer Einstein Bagels and Subway, along with a coffee vendor.
Over the next month, ALMC will be moving over to the new ALU building, as well as the U.S. Army Quartermaster NCO Academy. This will enable construction to occur in the buildings those organizations are vacating, said Albert Cruz, Base Realignment and Closure office.
For all of the scheduled moves, officials said the BRAC office closely monitors the construction progress and moves to ensure everything can occur on its projected timeline.
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