FORT CARSON, Colo. — U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson and Front Range community members joined for a two-day Installation Strategy & Partnership Summit Oct. 26-27, 2022, to share their strategies for the upcoming year. This was the second annual Installation Strategy Summit building on what was done last year.
Community leaders from Colorado Springs, Fountain, El Paso County, Woodland Park, Teller County, Trinidad and Las Animas County discussed challenges within their communities and their partnership with Fort Carson. Sister Service partners from the Air Force Academy, Peterson and Schriever Space Force bases and the Colorado National Guard were also in attendance.
After the presentations, many communities shared experiences within their cities and counties. Installation and government employees got into groups to discuss the different conflicts and come up with some potential solutions.
“A majority of us have the same challenges we are facing,” said Phillip Rico, mayor of Trinidad. “It’s good to know we are able to learn from each other and know we are not alone in some challenges.”
The City of Trinidad works closely with Fort Carson to ensure Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site is a viable training area for all service members. Piñon Canyon is a huge asset to Fort Carson and other military installations because of it’s 236,000 acres of maneuver space.
“Piñon Canyon is 30 miles outside of town, but it’s still close enough that there is a connection between Trinidad, Las Animas and Fort Carson,” said Rico. “With communication and being able to work together with Fort Carson, we are supporting each other.”
Fort Carson is no different than the communities outside the gates. It is a community within a community.
The resources the communities devoted themselves to address are also being leveraged inside the gates.
“By sharing resources between communities, we are able to build readiness within Fort Carson,” said Col. Sean M. Brown, garrison commander.
Day two of the summit was more focused on Fort Carson as a whole. Installation members and sister service installation representatives broke out into groups to discuss specific challenges within the installation and possible solutions to those obstacles.
Maintaining readiness is one of the Mountain Post’s top priorities. Brown said its good for him as the garrison commander to understand the frustrations within the organization that may not bubble up to his level without this kind of venue.
“I may not be able to address it directly, but I can address some of the friction points above the organization that influence and impact the stress inside the installation,” said Brown.
The summit concluded with a stronger bond between Fort Carson and the surrounding communities and strengthened ties with community leaders, said Brown.
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