The Associated Press September 24, 2004
Transfers show Fort Carson is safe from budget ax, officials say
The Army's decision to move 3,700 more troops to Fort Carson virtually assures the post is immune from the next round of base closings but will intensify the demand for already scarce family housing, officials said.
The 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division, which had been based in South Korea, will move to the post near Colorado Springs after it finishes a tour of duty in Iraq, scheduled for next summer, the Army announced Thursday.
The 2nd Brigade will bring Fort Carson's troop strength to more than 19,000, the highest since the 1970s.
The brigade's move is officially temporary until final decisions are made in the next round of base closings, but Rep. Joel Hefley said the move is long-term.
"It's about as permanent as they get," said Hefley, R-Colo., whose district includes the post.
Hefley and John Pike, executive director of GlobalSecurity.org, a Virginia-based think tank, said it's a clear sign Fort Carson won't be shut down.
"This means that it's a foregone conclusion that Fort Carson will stay open," Pike said. "They won't bring a unit to a base, then immediately shut it down."
Fort Carson already has a waiting list for its 2,672 family homes. Figuring out where house additional troops will take time, said post spokesman Lt. Col. David Johnson.
"It's too premature to look that far ahead," he said.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said politics played no role in the move, even though Colorado is a battleground state in the election between President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry.
But Pike said it was hard to ignore Bush's desire to solidify his lead over Kerry.
"If the Democrats have not charged that the Republicans are trying to buy a battleground state with this, then the Democrats are asleep at the switch," Pike said.
Fort Carson already has 15,845 soldiers, including the 3rd Armored Cavalry, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and 43rd Area Support Group.
More than 1,800 soldiers from the 43rd Area Support Group will leave in October for a second tour in Iraq. The 5,200-member 3rd Cavalry Regiment will return to Iraq in March.
© Copyright 2004, Associated Press
