Army Reserve digs in/Reserve Command and Forces Command breaks ground on new headquarters building

Photo By Timothy Hale | Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, left, and Gen. Charles C. Campbell, commander U.S. Army Forces Command, put on their hard hats during the ground breaking ceremony for the Army Reserve and Forces Command headquarters building at Fort Bragg, N.C. on Monday, Dec. 8.  

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

12.08.2008

Story by Timothy Hale  

U.S. Army Reserve Command

By Timothy L. Hale
Army Reserve Public Affairs

FORT BRAGG, N.C. – With the turn of a shovel, Lt. Gen. Jack C. Stultz, chief of the Army Reserve, and Army Reserve Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie put into motion the construction of the combined headquarters of the Army Reserve and Army Forces Command in a ceremony on Monday, Dec. 8.

Under clear but cold skies at Fort Bragg, the ceremonial ground breaking marked the beginning of the biggest transformation project of the Army Reserve under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure initiative.

"From an operational standpoint, we are linked at the hip with FORSCOM," said Stultz adding the Army Reserve provides over 200,000 Soldiers for FORSCOM-directed missions around the world.

Stultz said that when the Army Reserve develops rotation plans for support to Iraq, Afghanistan, other portions of the world plus stateside missions, the two commands already work closely together at Fort McPherson, Ga.

"We're sitting down with Forces Command and developing the Army Reserve forces we have available. Stultz added that together with FORSCOM and 1st Army, the forces are trained and then deployed.

The new combined headquarters building will encompass approximately 600,000 square feet of office space and will house over 2,700 military and civilian personnel. Once completed, the new headquarters will be one of the premier showcase headquarters in the Army.

"Today is an important milestone," said Gen. Charles C. Campbell, commander, Army Forces Command. "We're making a real and tangible step forward."

Campbell said the new state of the art command and control facility will provide a "greater level of cooperation between FORSCOM and USARC."

Both Stultz and Campbell praised Fort Bragg, Army Corps of Engineers-Savannah District, Fayetteville, and North Carolina congressional officials for their efforts in paving the way towards this phase of Army transformation.

"Fort Bragg is going to continue to be at the forefront in even greater ways in terms of what our nation's military does," said U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, N.C. 7th District.

"We are so proud to be able to support our military in this strong of a way and do it in a way that really shows we have a commitment here in North Carolina," he said.

The new headquarters will be located at the corner of Knox and Randolph streets and will be built at an estimated cost of nearly $300 million.

According to Ken Williamson, Army Reserve Command chief executive officer, the construction plan is slated at 1,000 days build time with an estimated completion in the Summer 2011.

• Date Taken: 12.08.2008
• Date Posted: 12.09.2008 16:22
• Story ID: 27408
• Location: FORT BRAGG, NC, US