FORT SILL, Okla.-- The governor of Oklahoma said she appreciated the tremendous work being done at Fort Sill and is deeply committed to being a partner with the installation.
"You are the leader in the nation in so many different areas of developing and preparing our Soldiers not only with the best training, but with the best equipment," said Gov. Mary Fallin. "We want our young Soldiers to be safe, to be prepared and to be ready to go."
Fallin was at Fort Sill Friday where she toured the post and gave a presentation to Fort Sill, Lawton and Southwest Oklahoma community leaders during the Team Sill Oklahoma Pride luncheon at the Patriot Club. It was her first visit to Fort Sill as governor.
Fallin said she was excited about the opportunity to work with Maj. Gen. David Halverson, Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill commanding general, and with Southwest Oklahoma communities on their many public and private partnerships with the fort. This included housing, grade schools and higher education partnerships, she said.
The Base Realignment and Closure Commission's recommendation which brought Army Air Defense Artillery to Fort Sill was a huge investment in the installation, Fallin said. The number of Soldiers and their families moving here will have tremendous impact on Lawton.
Oklahoma military installations did well during the last BRAC initiative getting additional investments, missions and manning, she said.
That was because of the work being done at the installations and also because of the tremendous support of their communities, Fallin said.
The Lawton-Fort Sill community, Southwestern Oklahoma Partnership Council, area mayors, military strategic planning commission, leadership teams, individuals and groups, really looked at military operations in Oklahoma to see how they could be in the forefront and remain so down the road, Fallin said.
The governor said she appreciated that the communities around Fort Sill did that, and they are always there willing to support the fort.
"It is all this coming together as the Oklahoma family, as the military family to support each other, and that's why it is so successful," Fallin said. "I know that we're going to continue to be successful in Oklahoma because you can just see the synergy being built."
She noted that there are many opportunities for new defense contractors and private sector companies in the Lawton-Fort Sill community.
"That's what I'm excited about," Fallin said. "Let's go after those people."
Oklahoma military installations also need to continue to work together, such as the partnerships between Tinker and Altus Air Force bases, Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and Fort Sill, she said.
"There are all kinds of opportunities ahead of us. They will work if we continue to do what we've been doing today, and that's talking, cooperating, sharing information not only with the players here at the table ... but also pulling in the private sector and community support and legislators," Fallin said.
The governor said she has visited the post many times during the past 20 years of her political career, and especially during her four years as a member of Congress on the U.S. Armed Services Committee.
"Every time I come here I learn something new and I'm always impressed because there is always something great going on," Fallin said. "That's the exciting part of seeing this tremendous facility."
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