Mulvaney visits Third Army's new headquarters at Shaw AFB

The Honorable John M. "Mick" Mulvaney, U.S. Congressman for South Carolina's Fifth district, visited Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., Jan. 28, spending an afternoon getting to know the military personnel who serve in his district and welcoming Third Army as his new neighbors.

"This was my first chance today to not only visit the base but to meet with its leadership and with the people who work here to understand the role that Shaw plays not only within our military but within the larger community here in Sumter and within the Fifth district," Mulvaney said. "This is also a great opportunity to meet the folks from Third Army who are in the process of moving here.

In addition to command briefings, Mulvaney toured the base and stopped by Third Army's new headquarters building currently under construction. The 321,000 square foot command and control facility is scheduled to be completed in May.

Third Army's move to Shaw began with the arrival of an advanced party of Soldiers in June 2010 and is schedule to be completed in Sept. 2011. The move was mandated by the 2006 Base Realignment and Closure decision to close Fort McPherson, Ga.

The arrival of Third Army to Shaw AFB will bring an estimated $118 million economic impact to Mulvaney's district and put the ground and air components for U.S. Central Command in the same location.

"This was a tremendous opportunity to continue to use Shaw as an economic driver for this entire part of the state," Mulvaney said. "I am glad to see that it is growing and succeeding. I don't think it's possible to overemphasize the importance of this last development to Shaw AFB, which is the addition of Third Army. "