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Units of action get new 'modular' barracks
By Jim Cunningham
August 12, 2004
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 12, 2004) -- When the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Ga., began organizing a fourth brigade-sized "unit of action," the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rushed to build facilities for the new unit.
"We're involved in Savannah District with short-term impacts on some of the reconfiguration of the Army," said Dwight Beranek, deputy director of military programs for the Corps of Engineers, "and need to use temporary or semi-permanent construction in a hurry to respond to the remodularization of the Army."
On May 25, the Corps awarded Clark Design/Build, LLS a $73.6 million emergency funded contract for the design, site development, and construction of a modular barracks campus. The site will include laundry facilities, battalion headquarters, company operations, arms vaults, and vehicle maintenance facilities for three battalions (852 Soldiers) at Fort Stewart.
In 142 days of near round-the-clock activity, construction workers are clearing forestland, installing underground utilities, and piecing together the buildings.
The first of 142 custom modular barracks were delivered on June 30, just 20 days after the design layout and construction requirements were approved. At peak delivery points, 12 trailer sections per day will be received and set to meet the completion schedule.
"This is the most aggressive schedule I've encountered in my 24 years with Clark," said Dave Young, the on-site Construction Executive.
The buildings fit together to form three private rooms with a shared bath and a shared kitchenette, according to Judy Milton, Savannah's lead architect on the project. Similar modular buildings piece together to form brigade or company headquarters, maintenance, and other facilities. As Army needs change, the buildings can be modified at a much lower cost than traditional construction.
This modular project cost $73.6 million, compared to an estimated $140 million for traditional construction. Plus the project can be finished and ready to house troops in weeks instead of years, according to Tim Corley, the project manager.
Modular construction like this project at Fort Stewart may be used elsewhere in the Army to fill gaps in construction due to the rapid changes needed to fight the Global War on Terrorism, officials said. They said the speed of construction makes the design highly responsive to the needs of the Army.
"Because now that you have more brigades, you have more brigade headquarters," Beranek said. "You're going to need more administrative facilities. You also have to think of the way the Army is being reorganized and put into place."
Another factor is restationing troops returning from overseas, either from temporary deployments or from the drawdown of forces based in other nations.
Modularity allows the Army to become a flexible, expeditionary force. The Corps' new modular construction allows the Army to house that force.
(Editor's note: Jim Cunningham edits Castle magazine for the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Bernard Tate with the Corps' headquarters PAO and John Barotti of Clark Design/Build LLC contributed to this article.)
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