BRAC changes far from complete, more moves yet to come for Knox

By Ms. Maureen Rose (IMCOM)September 3, 2009

Human Resources Center of Excellence
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

"Change is coming to Fort Knox," said Col. Scott Cottrell, the U.S. Army Accessions Command's Base Realignment and Closure chief.

For those who already live or work at Fort Knox, that's likely not a surprise.

What may be a surprise, however, is that, according to Cottrell, the installation is nowhere near its final destination on this journey of transformation.

Many other Army installations, Soldiers and DA civilians are in the same boat. This last round of BRAC affects 50 installations, three reserve garrisons, and eight leased facilities, Cottrell said.

By this time in 2011, there will be eight other Army centers of excellence throughout the U.S., as ordered by the Training and Doctrine Command, he explained. These centers will result from the consolidations of units and schools by function. So the Maneuver Center of Excellence will be at Fort Benning, Ga. The Fires CoE will be at Fort Sill, Okla.; the Sustainment CoE will be at Fort Lee, Va.; the Maneuver Support CoE is slated to go to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.;

Basic Combat Training CoE will be at Fort Jackson, S. C. while the Intelligence CoE will be at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., the Signal CoE will be at Fort Gordon, Ga., and the Aviation CoE will be at Fort Rucker, Ala.

The Army's "people piece of the puzzle" will be under one roof in Fort Knox's new Human Resource Center of Excellence. So all of the Army's organizations with a mission to acquire, retain, or manage its personnel will call Fort Knox their home. That includes the Accessions Command, Human Resources Command, and Cadet Command-which will be housed in the new office building-as well as the Recruiting Command which is already located on post.

When the sawdust settles, Fort Knox will be home to 17 general officers. The installation will become a multifunctional installation with Forces Command deployable units; i.e. the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Infantry Division and several Army Reserve units. The senior commander at Fort Knox will be the three-star commander of the Accessions Command.

With these changes will come jobs. Almost 4,500 additional permanent party personnel will be assigned to Fort Knox, military as well as DA civilians. There could be as many as 1,400 positions available between now and the fall of 2010, when the bulk of Human Resources Command personnel should be moved into their new office building of nearly one million square feet.

However, Col. Greg Gardner, the BRAC chief for HRC, said it's really too early to predict numbers with any accuracy. The initial survey of HRC employees indicated that 30 percent would move to Fort Knox, another 30 percent said they would not move to Fort Knox, and the last 40 percent said they were undecided.

"One of our biggest concerns," Gardner said, "will be finding enough (information technology) employees in the Knox area. There are more opportunities for them in the D.C. area. But we are offering all our employees jobs in Kentucky."

The actual letters of commitment go out soon and Gardner said he expects to have a better idea in September of how many employees will be moving to Fort Knox.

Gardner has the responsibility for everything that will be required to turn over, shut down, and move from all three locations-Alexandria, Va.; St. Louis; and Indianapolis-into the new facility at Knox.

The work on the HRCoE building is nearly 80 percent complete, while the paperwork has also begun, because HRC has 50 staffers working from a temporary site in Elizabethtown. The first vacancy announcement has been posted and closed already, and the hiring process will be ramping up in the near future, Gardner said.

Knox's chief of strategic plans for the U.S. Army's Armor Center and School is Mike Gillette. His primary job is the oversight of the progress for armor's move to Fort Benning, Ga.

"We're on track," he said when asked about the timeline for the move. "About half of our contracts are already under construction at Benning."

Half of the contracts tally up to $2 billion, with another $2 billion to be obligated in the future.

All of the moves-whether incoming or outgoing-need the support of Fort Knox, and they receive it from Col. Jeffrey Ogden, Fort Knox's deputy garrison commander for transformation. He echoed Gillette's conclusion, "We're on track."

For those readers who are new to the Fort Knox area, many changes have already been completed or are underway, like the renovation of the shoppette, the new high school, renovation of some housing areas, as well as the construction of new housing at Maple Ridge, Chestnut Glen and Anderson Green. Other projects included Waybur Theater, the Newgarden Inn, Gallotta's, the Glenn Miller building, Otto gym, the Graham building, and, of course, the mammoth office building that will become the HRCoE. The bowling center, library, credit union, and the PX food court have recently received updates. Wilson Road is being expanded to four lanes and should be finished by summer 2010. Many facilities for the 3/1st were either new construction or renovations that included motor pools, company operation facilities, a headquarters building, dining hall, and barracks.

"Between 2003 and 2013, Fort Knox has seen (or will see) nearly $1 billion in construction," Ogden said. "Literally miles of paving and curbing are being placed."

Not only are new facilities being built, but the existing space is carefully being inspected by the planning folks. Vacated buildings could be categorized four different ways:

1) Re-used as is.

2) Renovated for reuse.

3) Mothballed until a suitable use is found (the regional confinement facility might fall in this category because it has a very specific purpose that doesn't lend itself to a broad range of other uses.)

4) Demolished.

In any case, the planners are leaving no stone unturned and instructions have been issued: No informal arrangements to move into a space once it's vacated.

"All the space belongs to (the Directorate of Public Works staff) and they have plans for every inch," Ogden said.

Each building will be carefully inspected and determinations made for future use.

"It gives us a chance to relook at the entire footprint," Ogden said. "We need to look at where we can best serve Soldiers and their families. We're looking at right sizes, right positions, and right places."

If you're one of those dismayed by changes, there is also good news.

Fort Knox will still be the home of the gold bullion depository. It will still be the home of the Patton Museum, although another museum for armor will be established at Fort Benning. The first class ranges of Fort Knox will remain vital to the training of the tactical units. The garrison command will continue to support the senior commander as well as all other units on post.

All of the BRAC planners agreed that those who claim the moves will never happen must be in denial. The Army has spent too much time, energy, and money not to move. The '05 BRAC has a budget of $17 billion, which is three times more than the cost of all four previous BRACs put together, Cottrell said.

"A revolution is occurring at Fort Knox as it becomes the U.S. Army's human resources hub," Cottrell said. "There will be positive impact on the regional economy with job vacancies, new jobs, and the support system growing in the off-post communities to support these BRAC changes."