Army news service (April 7, 2005): industry leaders plan to help Army build more, faster.WASHINGTON -- With $1.7 billion slated for the construction of barracks bar·rack 1 tr.v. bar·racked, bar·rack·ing, bar·racks To house (soldiers, for example) in quarters. n. 1. A building or group of buildings used to house military personnel. and other stateside state·side adj. 1. Of or in the continental United States. 2. Alaska Of or in the 48 contiguous states of the United States. adv. Informal 1. Army facilities next year, the Corps of Engineers completed the first of five forums April 6 with architects and construction firm representatives. About 145 industry officials, including small business reps, attended the event to provide market research and insight into streamlining the military construction processes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "We are going to change the way we do business," said Don Basham Don Wilson Basham (1926-1989) was a popular Bible teacher and author. Born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, Basham was raised in a Baptist home but later joined the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) whilst at college. , chief, Engineering and Construction for the Corps. "We have to turn dirt the same year as our appropriations to meet the Army's upcoming construction demand." The Corps is charged with developing a construction strategy to decrease the time it takes to plan, program, design, and build military facilities. Coined the "perfect storm," a large construction demand is imminent as the Army moves units from Germany, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan, while it restructures its forces into modular units, and simultaneously executes Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign decisions, Corps officials said. "We're going to provide quality facilities faster, at a reduced cost," Basham explained. "We know that this is going to be a minimum of a $2 billion project for several years." In 2004, the command leveraged private industry to provide rapidly deployed relocatable barracks to housing units of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart Fort Stewart is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily in Liberty County, Georgia, but also occupying significant portions of Bryan County, Georgia. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census. , Ga. The Corps used this same approach to solve soldier housing issues at Fort Hood, Texas. The primary purpose of the April forums, officials said, is to gather information as to how to construct permanent facilities for brigade-size units, not temporary facilities. The overall military construction program will involve installations in the contiguous U.S. states, officials said, as well as Alaska and Hawaii over the next few years. Military construction is about $3.4 billion of the estimated $12.1 billion fiscal 2006 military programs budget. This consists of $1.7 billion for Army Military Construction (Army, Army Family Housing, Army Reserve); $1.3 billion for Air Force Military Construction (Air Force, Air Force Family Housing, Air Force Reserve); and $370 million for Department of Defense programs (medical, Defense Logistics Agency Noun 1. Defense Logistics Agency - a logistics combat support agency in the Department of Defense; provides worldwide support for military missions Defense Department, Department of Defense, DoD, United States Department of Defense, Defense - the federal department , Special Operations Forces Those Active and Reserve Component forces of the Military Services designated by the Secretary of Defense and specifically organized, trained, and equipped to conduct and support special operations. Also called SOF. , chemical demilitarization de·mil·i·ta·rize tr.v. de·mil·i·ta·rized, de·mil·i·ta·riz·ing, de·mil·i·ta·riz·es 1. To eliminate the military character of. 2. ). Heath is the deputy public affairs officer for the Army Corps of Engineers. Lt. Col. Stan Heath, USA |
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