WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 2, 2009) -- An Army installation in New Jersey and two in Virginia officially transformed Thursday to become part of new joint bases.
Near the nation's capital, the Fort Myer Military Community joined forces with the Marine Corps' Henderson Hall, Va., to form Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. The Army will manage installation functions there. The new joint base also includes Fort McNair in the District of Columbia.
In central New Jersey, Fort Dix combined forces with Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst and McGuire Air Force Base to form Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. At the new "super base," the Air Force will run installation management operations, acting as a sort of city manager to control basic infrastructure functions.
Finally, in southern Virginia, Fort Story joined up with Naval Mid-Atlantic Region at Naval Station Norfolk to form Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, with installation management provided by the Navy.
All three new installations reached "full operational capability" Oct. 1, which marks the end of a transition period that began Jan. 31 with "initial operational capability."
During the transitory period, responsibilities and functions between the installations that make up the new joint bases were gradually intertwined, and installation support functions, resources, real property, and manpower were transitioned.
A total of 12 new joint bases will be created, in two phases, as a result of the decisions made as part of the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005. Phase 1 created five joint bases, including three that involved the Army.
Phase 2 IOC will be Jan. 31, 2010, and will affect:
Aca,!Ac Fort Lewis, Wash., which will become part of Joint Base Lewis-McCord
Aca,!Ac Fort Richardson, Alaska, which will become part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
Aca,!Ac Fort Eustis, Va., which will become part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis
Aca,!Ac Fort Sam Houston, Texas, which will become part of Joint Base San Antonio
Joint basing is an outgrowth of the Base Realignment and Closure initiative, which seeks to achieve greater efficiencies by reducing duplication of services and saving the federal government money.
The ceremony establishing Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall included a change of command as Col. Carl R. Coffman took over the reins of leadership from Col. Laura J. Richardson.
"What a great joint-force day," said Brig. Gen. Karl R. Horst, commanding general of Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region and the Military District of Washington.
Horst evoked the storied histories of Myer and Henderson Hall, and cited the many milestones that led to the establishment of the joint base. He said there were 124 items that needed to get accomplished to make it happen and that only three remained to be resolved.
Over the past year, responsibilities and functions have gradually become intertwined between the two installations
"It was a multilateral effort produced by the participation of Col. Richardson and Col. Anderson," he said. "The leadership of OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense) participated in the successful merger of the installations and we thank you for your support."
Joint basing is a part of DOD's transformation efforts. The Office of the Secretary of Defense established Joint Base Implementation Guidance in January 2008 which identified 49 installation management support functions that can be consolidated at joint bases.
(Michael Norris of the Pentagram contributed to this article along with Todd Lopez of ARNEWS.)
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