FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- The commanding general of U.S. Army North served as the guest speaker during a luncheon March 23 hosted by the local Alamo Chapter of the Association of the United States Army at Fort Sam Houston's John J. McCarthy Golf Clubhouse.
Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IV, who also serves as the senior commander of Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis, took advantage of the opportunity to share his thoughts on the Army at Fort Sam Houston with the gathered community members.
"I may be the 'new guy' here in San Antonio," Caldwell said, "but I am truly honored to be here and have this opportunity to meet the members of the Alamo chapter."
Caldwell said he is glad to be in San Antonio and is also appreciative of the unique opportunity to serve at U.S. Army North (Fifth Army) -- especially since his father, retired Lt. Gen. William Caldwell IIII, also served as the commander of Fifth Army.
"It's great to be able to follow in my dad's footsteps, 30 years later, and come here to this town that truly has welcomed us, with just incredibly open arms, and has been so gracious and kind to Stephanie and myself and our family."
He said although his family had deep ties with the San Antonio community, he had already joined the military and was serving as a lieutenant during his father's days as the commander.
"This is my first time to be stationed in Texas, and my wife Stephanie and I have just been enamored with this great city -- Military City, U.S.A.," he said. "We have been to the Alamo and have started to get into the history, enjoyed our first rodeo, seen the beautiful fields of bluebonnets, and are looking forward to Fiesta -- Viva Fiesta!"
Caldwell spoke of the "three hats" he wears as the commander of Army North: as commander of U.S. Northern Command's Joint Force Land Component Command; as commander of the Army's Service Component Command in support of NORTHCOM, it's combatant command; and as the senior commander of Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis.
"As the senior Army representative, I've been looking at what the Army is doing and what the future looks like for the Army here," Caldwell said, adding that troop reductions and fiscal cuts, as known today, should not have a drastic impact Fort Sam Houston in the foreseeable future.
"What I'm seeing at Fort Sam Houston ... is that we're in great shape," he said. "We have an identified mission here that is not going away. It's an enduring requirement in the United States Army and not one you can really downsize."
He also discussed the Base Realignment and Closure commission changes at Fort Sam Houston and the growth that resulted from those changes.
"I think that most of you know that when this whole BRAC thing started, things, obviously, were starting to change," Caldwell said. "But I wanted to give you a couple statistics you may not know about. Our (Army) permanent party strength, in 2006, was about 26,000 military and civilians. Today, we are at 38,000, so we've grown about 12,000. And right now we've already approved and funded an additional growth of about 5,000."
The number of students attending training at Fort Sam Houston has also increased, he said.
"Our student throughput, because of all our student medical training, has gone from about 22,000 that used to be here pre-BRAC now to an annual throughput of 44,000," Caldwell said.
The post also underwent a substantial increase in construction.
"We have seen 51 new buildings go up, as well as the restoration of 24 historic buildings -- and there is still more going on as we speak," Caldwell told attendees.
As he concluded his remarks, he invited the Alamo chapter members to participate in a run June 14 to the Alamo in honor of the Army's birthday.
"We're going to raise the flag, cut a birthday cake, sing the Army song and then go back to work," Caldwell said. "Your Army, here at Fort Sam Houston, is here to stay. We're not going anywhere."
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