Transforming Fort Belvoir

By this time next year, Fort Belvoir's workforce will be much larger than it is now.

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure legislation was signed into law on Nov. 9, 2005. Under BRAC law, it was determined that Fort Belvoir will receive a net gain of approximately 19,300 military and civilian employees - the largest net gain of any Defense Department installation.

"BRAC 2005 will nearly double the size of Fort Belvoir's workforce to a total population of 47,000 by September 15, 2011," said Fort Belvoir Deputy Garrison Commander Col. Mark Moffatt. "This is the federally mandated date by which BRAC must be completed."

The cost of construction for new facilities, renovated facilities, and infrastructure projects related to the implementation of BRAC at Fort Belvoir is forecasted to cost more than $4 billion, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division that is charged with managing the construction of the BRAC projects.

The post has three non-contiguous sites or substations in the region. Non-contiguous Fort Belvoir properties includes Rivanna Station in Charlottesville, Va., the Fort Belvoir North Area in Springfield, Va., and a portion of the Mark Center in Alexandria, Va., that are now home to three BRAC realigned organizations at Fort Belvoir. They are the Defense Intelligence Agency's Joint-Use Intelligence Analysis Facility, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's New Campus East, and the multiple Defense Department agencies formerly in leased space in the National Capital Region, respectively.

To support the increased workforce and mission requirements, the garrison is investing $182 million into roads, utilities, communications and base support facilities while renovating existing space, building new buildings for incoming tenants, reconfiguring the installation, and implementing increased traffic demand management practices to mitigate traffic concerns. During 2010-2011, the main transportation arteries on post (Gunston, Belvoir, and Pohick Roads) will be expanded to four lanes to accommodate Belvoir's growth, according to Moffatt.

Incoming and Outgoing Organizations

The 2005 BRAC legislation is broken into multiple recommendations or individual actions. The following realignments are associated with Fort Belvoir:

Incoming organizations to Fort Belvoir:

* BRAC 5 - Program Enterprise Office-Enterprise Information Systems

* BRAC 132- Army Lease

* BRAC 133- Department of Defense Lease

* BRAC 134- Missile Defense Agency Headquarters' Command Center

* BRAC 167- Defense Intelligence Agency's Joint-Use Information Analysis Facility

* BRAC 168- National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Campus East

* BRAC 169- Fort Belvoir Community Hospital

Outgoing organizations from Fort Belvoir:

* BRAC 5- Program Enterprise Office-Enterprise Information Systems, C4ISR

* BRAC 141- Soldiers Magazine

* BRAC 131- U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division

* BRAC 148- Army Materiel Command & U.S. Army Security Assistance Command

* BRAC 174- Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Chemical Biological

* BRAC 185- Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Armament

* BRAC 127- Prime Power

In addition to BRAC, the makeup of Fort Belvoir partners and the support the garrison provides continues to transform as new missions come online. Major renovations are being completed on all access control points to upgrade the anti-terrorism and force protection capabilities, construction of a new Lieber Gate and additional child development centers, a new PX and Commissary, a new Shoppette, as well as continued work on the privatization of utilities and housing.

New missions include the Warriors in Transition battalion with Warrior Family Assistance Center, the U.S. Army Forces Cyber Command, and construction of the National Museum of the United States Army. 

Editor's Note: Mr. Travis Edwards is the Fort Belvoir Public Affairs Office BRAC Outreach Chief. For more information call (703) 805-2019 or visit www.belvoirnewvision.com. Follow Fort Belvoir on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Radio 1610AM.