With two National Guard brigade combat teams coming through Fort Bliss for pre-deployment exercises, hosting an 82nd Airborne Division task force for an emergency readiness exercise with no notice, along with a host of other tasks this summer alone, Maj. Gen. Patrick Matlock, the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss commanding general, said one thing was for certain.
“There is no place else in the Army that can operate on this scale,” he said. “The state of the military is strong, and the state of Fort Bliss is especially strong.”
Matlock spoke at the 2018 El Paso Chamber of Commerce State of the Military luncheon at the Centennial Banquet and Conference Center on East Fort Bliss Aug. 21. The annual luncheon connected civic leaders and influencers with military commanders and troops in the region to cover the previous year and chart the road ahead.
Although in command for less than two months, Matlock effectively informed on key points, such as El Paso’s economic growth and strengthening of quality of life programs as some highlights of the previous military-civilian year. Fort Bliss directly contributes close to $6 billion to the El Paso economy and nearly $19 billion via indirect channels. The Department of Defense, across all service branches, is the largest economic driver in the Borderland.
“Our two communities have been intertwined since when the fort was near downtown El Paso and served as a cavalry outpost,” Matlock said. “We’ve replaced horses to armor and Pershing’s biplanes to Apache gunships – Fort Bliss has continually grown in importance to the Army and to El Paso.”
Home to the 2.2 million-acre Fort Bliss Training Complex, Matlock said Fort Bliss was “well positioned” in the eyes of the Army because of its access to sweeping training space and an ability to process transiting troops quickly and efficiently.
“Fort Bliss is a premiere projection platform – the installation has the biggest mobilization and demobilization in the entire Department of Defense, which means we can ‘ramp up’ and ‘ramp down’ operations with a high-quality and consistent operational tempo at any time,” he said.
The general lauded military neighbors at White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base, both in neighboring New Mexico, for being multipliers in terms of training effectiveness and overall readiness.
Charting the road ahead, Matlock said the Army mission should keep Fort Bliss in the forefront of its operations due to the mission diversity already on his post.
“This is a time of transition for the United States Army and for the country’s defense posture in general,” Matlock said. “The Army’s modernization strategy has one focus – make Soldiers and units more lethal to win our nation’s wars and come home safely. While our focus will always be on threats on any size to our homeland, the military – and the Army in particular – are reshaping our strategic mindset to address global peer and near-peer threats. Fort Bliss is uniquely positioned for this new focus, given our size and scope of forces on post, to include Infantry, Armor, Aviation, Artillery, Air Defense and support assets of all kinds.”
In closing, Matlock said his view on Fort Bliss’ ongoing partnership with El Paso and the Borderland is simple.
“The things that you care about in this community are the same things we care about. The past decade or more of progress shows us what is possible with foresight, patience and perseverance,” he said. “I know you are proud of the progress you’ve made in your communities, in all areas of employment, schools, recreation and other aspects of quality of life. We are too.
“The military value of Fort Bliss is very high, and the military value of El Paso is very high. I applaud this effort and will do everything I can to support wherever possible. It’s our rich history of interaction and cooperation that make this relationship so special.”