Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Chris Bridson | Col. Mark Simerly, commander of the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas – By the end of 2017, the Army will reduce its forces by 14 percent to 490,000 soldiers from a wartime high of 570,000. This is a decision that will not only affect military members and their families, but also has the potential to affect the surrounding communities.
Due to the Budget Control Act of 2011, senior leaders across Fort Hood are being encouraged to reach out to the local communities of Central Texas and help them understand what these changes mean to them.
At a recent luncheon held by the Temple Lions Club, the Commander of the 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Col. Mark Simerly, was invited to be their guest speaker and shed some light on the subject.
In attendance were former Temple, Texas Mayor, J.W. Perry, and the current Mayor of Belton, Texas, Jim Covington, who was responsible for inviting Simerly.
Mayor Covington took the podium and introduced Col. Simerly to the club members by briefly describing his military background, what he and the soldiers of the 4th SB do for other units on Fort Hood, and their involvement in the local communities.
“The communities of Temple and Belton, Texas have a very close relationship with the 4th, (Sustainment Brigade) they are our adopted unit,” said Covington.
It is this type of relationship that makes it imperative for leaders such as Simerly to engage local communities and keep them informed about changes that may be coming to Fort Hood.
“I was asked to come out here because of an interest in a recent Army decision that affects our community, and that’s the Force Restructuring and Stationing decision that is going to cause an overall 14 percent reduction in our forces across the Army by 2017.” said Simerly.
He went on to explain that he is not an expert in force restructuring, but an expert in logistics, and a Sustainment Commander on Fort Hood so he would be referring to some recent announcements from the Army, and from the Senior Commander on Fort Hood, Maj. Gen. Anthony R. Ierardi.
“I’ll start off with the bottom line, and that is that Fort Hood did very well in this Stationing and Restructuring decision,” he said. “The Army is going to a 14 percent overall cut in terms of our troop strength, and at Fort Hood we will only see a reduction of 7 percent by 2017.”
According to the recent announcements, this will result in a cut of approximately 2,900 soldiers on Fort Hood from a population of more than 48,000 soldiers.
These changes are a direct result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the Defense Planning Guidance of 2012 designed to get the Army’s overall strength back down to pre-war levels. Simerly explained how the changes will be made across the Army and which military bases will be seeing these cuts of approximately 80,000 soldiers.
“The Army is inactivating Brigade Combat Teams at 12 different installations including two in Germany, but only one at Fort Hood,” he said. “These reductions will allow the Army to increase and grow in some other areas including Aviation, Special Operations, Missile Defense and Cyber capabilities.”
Simerly read a statement that was issued by Maj. Gen. Ierardi on June 24, thanking the Central Texas communities for their support of Fort Hood’s soldiers over the past 12 years of war before opening the floor up for any questions.
Working closely with the surrounding communities, and the support it receives are important to the 4th SB. Whether it is helping faculty at one of their adopted schools, contributing to local area food drives, or marching in a parade, they always put forth maximum effort to make a difference.
It is differences in the community like these to which the Lions Club members can relate.
During the meeting, The Lions Club members held a quick raffle to raise money for the Lions Camp in Kerrville, Texas. The camp caters specifically to area children in need.
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2013 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 110219 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | BELTON, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | TEMPLE, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 154 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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