Military

Fort Eustis

Fort Eustis is located on the James River at the northern tip of Newport News and only minutes from Williamsburg, Virginia. It is collocated with HQ TRADOC and the Joint Warfighting Center at Fort Monroe and Air Combat Command at Langley AFB. Across Hampton Roads is Atlantic Command at Norfolk Naval Base. Fort Eustis is the home of the US Army Transportation Corps, which includes the Transportation Center and School, the Aviation Logistics School, and the Non-commissioned Officer Academy.

Fort Story, a major sub-installation of Fort Eustis, is located at Cape Henry, at the juncture of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is the prime location and training environment for both Army amphibious operations and Joint Logistics-Over-the-Shore (LOTS) training events.

The U.S. Army Transportation Center, Fort Eustis, is an 8,300-acre facility in southeastern Virginia, within the City of Newport News. Fort Eustis is the Transportation Corps Training Center, providing training in rail, marine, and amphibian operations and other modes of transportation. Fort Eustis began operations in 1918 as a training camp and became a permanent installation in 1923. Approximately 17,500 military personnel and civilians work, live, or train at Fort Eustis.

Fort Eustis, located in Newport News, Virginia, was established in 1918. The original purpose was to serve as a point of concentration, organization, training and embarkation for the troops of the Coast Artillery Corps intended for duty abroad as heavy field artillery, trench mortar batteries, and antiaircraft artillery units. Since 1918, Fort Eustis has served a number of purposes, including an Army training facility for artillery and artillery observation, a prison for prohibition law offenders, and a work camp for the Works Progress Administration. Beginning in the World War II era, the primary mission of Fort Eustis has been Army transportation training, research and development, engineering, and operations, including aviation and marine shipping activities. The post is currently under the command of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)

The Transportation Center, which includes Forts Eustis and Story, is always on the move, playing a critical role in deployments by providing transportation services to the Army, Department of Defense, and other government agencies in peacetime and war. In addition to training military and civilian transporters for Active Army, Reserve, National Guard, and Department of Defense, the Transportation Center is responsible for providing the only training center in the Army for Logistics-Over-the-Shore (LOTS) training. LOTS training conducted at Fort Story ensures mission readiness to work in areas with no existing port.

Fort Eustis is home to the 7th Transportation Group (Composite), the Army's most deployed unit. The 7th Group supported Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Operation Restore Hope, Operation Provide Hope, and Operation Vigilant Warrior, as well as operations in Rwanda, Haiti, and Bosnia.

Fort Eustis has approximately 8300 acres of land with 2000 acres of cantonment area. The training areas total 6081 acres distributed throughout the installation, including 1000 acres for small arms ranges. Training areas are located on both improved and unimproved grounds. The improved grounds include the Third Port facility and Felker Army Airfield. There is also a Fast Sealift Ship training ship located at Lambert's Point in Norfolk, Virginia. Felker Army Airfield specializes in helicopter flight training. There are 77 miles of paved road and 15 miles of unpaved road that allow access to remote sections of the installation. There are 31 miles of railroad track used for rail training on the installation. The unimproved training areas include forests, wetlands and open plains field to provide the soldiers realistic terrain to train on.

With fewer U.S. forces permanently stationed overseas, the military services must increase the capability to move forces abroad. This means that troops, equipment, and supplies must travel even greater distances, so deployments must be accomplished more efficiently than ever. With the reduction of funds available for training, the use of Forts Eustis and Story for future training exercises is more important than ever. Ongoing training exercises are critical to the success of the 7th Transportation Group; troops need to maintain their edge to accomplish missions as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, training for rapid deployment without compromising the environment requires strategic planning and coordination. Strategic planning for environmental issues such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation and environmental training (particularly spill and pollution prevention) for troops has remained a challenge.

Fort Eustis employs a workforce of about 9,600 military and 4,150 civilian personnel. There are about 1,350 housing units on-post, with 1,100 military personnel and 2,700 dependents in residence. On-post dormitories house about 1,600 military personnel. Additionally, there is an average of about 600 short-term military personnel on-post for training.

Fort Eustis is located within the city of Newport News, Virginia. The area around the post is used for a combination of rural, residential, commercial and industrial activities. The post is bounded by the James River to the west and south and the Warwick River to the east. These rivers are commonly used for recreational boating and fishing activities. Commercial fishing also occurs in the vicinity of the post.

Fort Eustis was proposed for the EPA National Priorities List in January 1994, and listed in December 1994. The post encompasses an area of about 8,300 acres. For remedial activity purposes, Fort Eustis has delineated 22 Installation Restoration Program areas, consisting of landfills, waste holding ponds, leaking underground storage tanks and fuel spills, maintenance and fuel storage areas, and fire fighting training areas.

BRAC 2005

In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to close Fort McPherson, GA; as a result, it recommended to relocate the Installation Management Agency (IMA) Southeastern Region Headquarters and the US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) Southeastern Region Headquarters from Ft. McPherson to Fort Eustis, VA. The IMA and NETCOM HQs would move to Fort Eustis because of recommendations to consolidate the Northeastern and Southeastern regions of these two commands into one Eastern Region at Fort Eustis. Ft. Eustis received additional units as a result of DoD's recommendation to to close Ft. Monroe, VA. Its recommendation relocated the US Army Training & Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Headquarters, the Installation Management Agency (IMA) Northeast Region Headquarters, the US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) Northeast Region Headquarters and the Army Contracting Agency Northern Region Office to Fort Eustis.

In another recommendation, DoD would realign Fort Eustis by relocating the Aviation Logistics School and consolidating it with the Aviation Center and School at Fort Rucker. This recommendation would consolidate Aviation training and doctrine development at a single location. Consolidating Aviation Logistics training with the Aviation Center and School would foster consistency, standardization and training proficiency. It would consolidate both Aviation skill level I producing courses at one location, which would allow the Army to reduce the total number of Military Occupational Skills (MOS) training locations (lessening the TRADOC footprint). This would also support transformation by collocating institutional training, MTOE units, RDT&E organizations and other TDA units in large numbers on single installations to support force stabilization and engage training.

The total estimated one-time cost to the Department of Defense to implement this recommendation would be $492.3M. The net of all costs and savings to the Department of Defense during the implementation period would be a cost of $348.1M. Annual recurring savings to the Department after implementation would be $42.9M with a payback expected in 13 years. The net present value of the costs and savings to the Department over 20 years would be a savings of $77.4M. Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 5,000 jobs (2,410 direct jobs and 2,590 indirect jobs) over the 2006-2011 period in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA, metropolitan statistical area (0.5 percent). This recommendation would require spending approximately $0.4M for environmental compliance activities.

The Fort Eustis community expressed concerns that consolidation of the Aviation Logistics School and the Aviation School would not create synergies since officer flight training and maintenance enlisted personnel training call for very different skill sets. They were concerned that the move of the school would damage sophisticated training devices in transit and degrade training. They questioned the adequacy of Fort Rucker's infrastructure and off-post instructor candidate pool. Finally, they maintained that DoD understated costs and overstated savings.

For this recommendation the Commission found excessive manpower savings attributed to the consolidation of the Aviation Logistics School and the Aviation School. Correcting DoD's error reduced military manpower savings from 530 spaces to 104 spaces-eliminating 426 spaces initially claimed as military savings and reducing annual dollar savings by 73 percent. In response to the Commission, the Department reviewed military construction requirements and reduced its estimated future military construction costs by nearly $200 million, to $199.5 million. While the reduced construction estimates somewhat offset the reduced annual savings, the Commission found that the adjusted payback period was still 45 years. The Commission found that the justification for consolidation rested solely on the non-cost elements of the proposal and that the marginal potential improvements in military value did not justify or support a net investment cost of $290.3 million.

The Commission found that the Secretary of Defense deviated substantially from final selection criteria 4 and 5 and the Force Structure Plan. Therefore, the Commission rejected the recommendation of the Secretary.

In its 2005 BRAC Recommendations, DoD recommended to realign Fort Eustis, VA, by relocating the Transportation Center and School to Fort Lee, VA. It would then consolidate the Transportation Center and School and the Ordnance Center and School from Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD with the Quartermaster Center & School, the Army Logistic Management College, and Combined Arms Support Command, to establish a Combat Service Support Center at Fort Lee, VA. This recommendation would consolidate Combat Service Support (CSS) training and doctrine development at a single installation, which would promote training effectiveness and functional efficiencies. The moves would advance the Maneuver Support Center (MANSCEN) model, currently in place at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, which would consolidate the Military Police, Engineer, and Chemical Centers and Schools. This recommendation would improve the MANSCEN concept by consolidating functionally related Branch Centers & Schools. Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 3,516 jobs (1,709 direct jobs and 1,807 indirect jobs) over the 2006-2011 period in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport New, VA-NC, metropolitan economic area (0.4 percent).

The Fort Lee community expressed its support for the creation of the Center and indicated that it is well equipped to handle the proposed expansion. The community associated with Fort Eustis pointed out issues hindering rail and maritime training at Fort Lee, specifically the lack of a deepwater port and the expense of replicating the major training assets already existing at Fort Eustis. Based on the belief that some training would have to remain at Fort Eustis, the community maintained that all training should remain, and they urged the Commission to reject the DoD proposal. The Redstone Arsenal community requested reconsideration of the EOD Training Department move to Fort Lee, citing critical EOD training support provided to the FBI Hazardous Devices School, a national resource in the fight against terrorists and one that should not be disrupted by BRAC.

The Commission found the capacity of Fort Lee sufficient to meet the new training requirements created by consolidating four schools onto the installation, except for insufficient land and space available to conduct Warrior Training involving heavy weapons and explosives. The Commission determined that the shortfall can be successfully mitigated by the use of nearby training sites at Fort Pickett, which has sufficient acreage to support all requirements.

The Commission also found that Fort Lee does not have access to a deepwater port. Since deepwater training is part of the Transportation School curriculum, some deepwater training must still be conducted at Fort Eustis, and therefore the Commission specifies that the movement of the Transportation School to Fort Lee does not prevent the conduct of training at Fort Eustis when required.

During the Commission's review of DoD's proposal, concerns were raised that the prerogative for assigning optimal training locations for combat service support courses might be legally constrained by a Commission decision to centralize all combat service support training, especially since combat service support training courses are currently conducted at several locations across the nation. The Commission notes that consolidation of the four schools at Fort Lee must not be interpreted in any way as a requirement that all combat service support training be conducted at Fort Lee. The Commission finds that the location of any course or any part of a course shall continue to be at the discretion of the Department based on both effectiveness and efficiency.

The Commission found that the Department calculated only the costs for the move of that portion of the museums associated with the schools' manning documents. DoD costing did not include new museum construction or other movement of artifacts, documents, or exhibits as part of the BRAC proposal. The Commission finds that further museum actions will be left for future decision by DoD. Last, the Commission conducted an in-depth review of projected construction costs, the accuracy of which was challenged by locally generated estimates. The Commission found that while the DoD estimate is probably low, the correction would not be as high as the locally generated estimate. Factoring in cost reductions created by leaving deepwater training at Fort Eustis, the recommendation's payback period was extended by only a year and a half, which does not amount to a substantial deviation.

The Commission found the Secretary's recommendation consistent with the final selection criteria and the Force Structure Plan. Therefore, the Commission approved the recommendation of the Secretary.

In another Recommendation, DoD would realign Fort Eustis, VA, by relocating the Army Surface Deployment and Distribution Command to Scott Air Force Base, IL, and consolidating it with the Air Force Air Mobility Command Headquarters and Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) Headquarters at Scott AFB, IL. Collocation of TRANSCOM and Service components would (1) collocate activities with common functions and facilitate large-scale transformation proposed by the TRANSCOM Commander, and (2) reduce personnel to realize long-term savings. The realignment would also terminate leased space operations in the National Capital Region (143,540 GSF in Alexandria, VA) and near Norfolk, VA (40,013 GSF in Newport News, VA). Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 1,472 jobs (857 direct jobs and 615 indirect jobs) in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division (less than 0.1 percent).

In another recommendation, DoD would realign Ft Eustis and two other installations by relocating all mobilization processing functions to Ft Bragg, NC, designating it as Joint Pre-Deployment/Mobilization Site Bragg/Pope. This recommendation was part of a larger recommendation to consolidate mobilization funcitons at several other sites. This recommendation would realign eight lower threshold mobilization sites to four existing large capacity sites and transforms them into Joint Pre-Deployment/ Mobilization Platforms. This action would be expected to have the long-term effect of creating pre- deployment/mobilization centers of excellence, leverage economies of scale, reduce costs, and improve service to mobilized service members. These joint platforms would not effect any of the services units that a have specific unit personnel/equipment requirements necessitating their mobilization from a specified installation. The realigned, lower thresholds mobilization sites had significantly less capacity and many less mobilizations. Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 2 jobs (1 direct job and 1 indirect job) over the 2006-2011 period in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metropolitan statistical area (less than 0.1 percent).

In another recommendation, DoD would realign Fort Eustis, VA, by relocating the installation management functions to Langley AFB, VA.

All installations employed military, civilian, and contractor personnel to perform common functions in support of installation facilities and personnel. All installations executed these functions using similar or near similar processes. Because these installations shared a common boundary with minimal distance between the major facilities or are in near proximity, there was significant opportunity to reduce duplication of efforts with resulting reduction of overall manpower and facilities requirements capable of generating savings, which would be realized by paring unnecessary management personnel and achieving greater efficiencies through economies of scale. Intangible savings would be expected to result from opportunities to consolidate and optimize existing and future service contract requirements. Additional opportunities for savings would also be expected to result from establishment of a single space management authority capable of generating greater overall utilization of facilities and infrastructure. Further savings would be expected to result from opportunities to reduce and correctly size both owned and contracted commercial fleets of base support vehicles and equipment consistent with the size of the combined facilities and supported populations. Regional efficiencies achieved as a result of Service regionalization of installation management would provide additional opportunities for overall savings as the designated installations are consolidated under regional management structures.

Langley AFB's quantitative military value score compared to the Fort Eustis quantitative military value score was a clear margin for Fort Eustis. However, pending changes to Fort Eustis resulting from other BRAC recommendations caused military judgment to favor Langley AFB as the receiving installation for the installation management functions. Relocations of organizations currently based at Fort Eustis would cause a significant population decline and overall reduction in the scope of the installation's supporting mission. Based on these changes, it was the military judgment of the JCSG that Langley AFB would be better able to perform these functions for both locations. Assuming no economic recovery, this recommendation could result in a maximum potential reduction of 546 jobs (238 direct jobs and 306 indirect jobs) over the 2006-2011 period in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area (less than 0.1 percent).