Fort Bragg, North Carolina – America’s Home of the Airborne is not standing still. Leaders of Fort Bragg detailed an ambitious transformation agenda during the annual State of Fort Bragg address, announcing a major gate closure, multi-million dollar infrastructure investments, and new initiatives aimed at modernizing America’s premier installation.
“Fort Bragg’s future is very, very bright” said Lt. Gen Gregory K. Anderson, Commander XVIII Airborne Corps. “So much is going on, and so much more is in the works.”
The most immediate announcement: the All American Parkway gate and Gruber Road Bridge will be closed following the Independence Day weekend for an estimated $22 million rebuild. Anderson, making the announcement publicly for the first time, said both the road and bridge require long term structural repairs. Col. Craig Giancaterino, Commander 16th Military Police, said guard force services will be redistributed to remaining gates temporarily. Facial recognition technology, recently validated at Fort Bragg, will help increase throughput.
The closure is one piece of a larger infrastructure challenge. With an estimated $3 billion in project backlog and 43% of the installation’s 1,462 miles of road in need of repair, garrison leaders have turned to the Intergovernmental Service Agreements (IGSAs) with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, City of Fayetteville, and regional partners to stretch every dollar. Those agreements have generated more than $23 million in cost avoidance this fiscal year alone, reinvested directly into Fort Bragg’s annual work plan.
Housing partner Corvias is executing hundreds of renovations under its Homestead Initiative, bringing vacant homes back into service. Eight barracks renovation projects funded by $6.3 million in Department of the Army Barracks Task Force money are slated to begin in July, targeting HVAC, flooring, and painting across Fort Bragg’s 117 barracks.
With an evolving threat landscape in mind, Anderson emphasized Fort Bragg’s need to protect itself as a critical power projection platform — from its airspace to its networks to its energy supply. On energy, the installation is among nine Army finalists for a micro-nuclear reactor under the Janus program — a capability that would allow Fort Bragg to “island” itself from the commercial grid and sustain power projection missions independently.
Additional highlights included the October closure of Stryker Golf Course — to be repurposed into a community hub with input from on and off-post stakeholders — the anticipated midsummer opening of the Rally Point Bistro campus style dining facility, and confirmation that a Multi-Domain Task Force remains on track to come to Fort Bragg, adding capabilities in long range fires, cyber, and space to complement the existing Global Response Force.
“The magic here is the people,” Anderson said in closing. “The quality of young soldiers and their families that come here to serve — it’s a special place, and we should cherish it.”