FORT BRAGG, N.C. - What would you do with $1 million on Fort Bragg' Improve gyms' Supplement childcare costs' Or beautify the post'

"One million dollars is what Fort Bragg stands to gain if it wins the Army Community of Excellence competition this year," said Tom McCollum, Fort Bragg Public Affairs officer. "You would be surprised, though, at how fast that would be used on a post of this size."

Fort Baragg Garrison has been selected for a site visit as a finalist in the ACoE competition. The visit is planned for Nov. 16 to 20, said Carrie Rice, director of Plans, Analysis and Integration Office. Installation directorates will be consulted during the site visit.

Fort Bragg won $500,000 in last year's competition and those monies will be received within the next two months, said Rice.

"Normally the garrison commander solicits suggestions from the staff on how best to spend it," said McCollum. "Though the money award is a great bonus, how well we support the installation and units here is the real focus for us," said McCollum.

Rice said the award would highlight any garrisons that "have systematic processes in place that will allow continuous improvement of the delivery of services provided to our customers."

Garrison employees will be interviewed by a team of eight visitors, Rice said. The assistant chief of staff of Information Management will make any determination about the award.

The installation has a history of putting previous ACoE winnings to good use.
"Iron Mike was paid for with ACoE winnings," Rice said. "That was the last big purchase."
The Iron Mike statue was recast in bronze in 2005.

One of the installation's planning strategies is to continuously identify steps to take to keep the garrison successful.

"We have identified the critical issues of our customers in order to keep our customers mission-ready well into the future," Rice said.

Fort Bragg first received ACoE recognition in 1990 and had been in the top five every year since.