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News
Fort Belvoir project teams welcome SECARMY
March 19, 2009
by Marc Barnes
Fort Belvoir Integration Public Affairs Office
Secretary of the Army Pete Geren caught a firsthand glimpse of Fort Belvoir's future during a visit to three Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) projects sites here Feb. 27.
Geren was accompanied by Keith Eastin, assistant secretary of the Army for Installations and Environment, as the pair visited sites of the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital on main post, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency New Campus East at the Engineer Proving Ground, and the Department of Defense (DoD) BRAC 133 project in Alexandria, Va.
After a quick visit to each of the sites, Geren praised the monumental efforts of the Army Corps of Engineers, the garrison and surrounding communities to ensure success as the projects continue moving forward.
"The scale of this is truly extraordinary — great work by the Corps," he said. "We've seen great cooperation between the garrison, Fort Belvoir, the Corps, county and state officials and city officials in this region."
"The Secretary of the Army's on-site visit to the major Fort Belvoir BRAC projects is in itself a show of the great collaborative effort going on here between the Army's senior leadership, the Corps, and Fort Belvoir's staff," said Col. Jerry L. Blixt, post commander. "It was very important to me that he was able to be here and see first-hand what the largest overall BRAC program in DoD looks like."
The secretary said tough issues had to be addressed, and many things taken into consideration to make sure the new facilities meet the needs of Fort Belvoir, the organizations that will use them, military personnel and their families, and the citizens of northern Virginia. "Investments like this affect everything in the region," he said. "My hat's off to the leadership of the Corps and the leadership of the Garrison for their work, as well as (local and state) officials."
In addition, Geren noted the environmental considerations during design and construction of the new facilities. All three projects are working to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver ratings, under the LEED Green Building Rating System by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Geren said it's critical for the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Army as a whole, to continue responsible management of the environment, no matter the project. "Whether managing 17 million acres of range that we have across the country, or the many environmental projects the Corps undertakes all over the world, or work on construction like this, we do everything we can to protect the environment and be good stewards of the resources taxpayers entrust to us," he said.
While citing the progress on all of the projects, the secretary said he was very impressed with cooperation of the Corps and its contractors on the community hospital, noting the facility's impact on the quality of life for service members and their families. "The new hospital is going to bring top quality healthcare to this entire region," he explained. "It's going to be a joint hospital, and all services are going to cooperate in providing quality health care for Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in this region, as well as their families. It's a facility that will be state of the art, and one of the most outstanding hospitals in America."
The Army Corps of Engineers' Norfolk District is managing construction of the community hospital, while Baltimore District manages NGA New Campus East, and New York District manages BRAC 133 construction in Alexandria. All three districts are part of the North Atlantic Division, headquartered in New York. The division is leveraging its resources to meet construction requirements for more than $4 billion in projects — all projects at Fort Belvoir — by regionalizing the workload here among four districts.
Construction of the hospital, NGA and BRAC 133 buildings began as a result of BRAC 2005, and the three are the largest BRAC projects at Fort Belvoir. They are scheduled for completion by September 2011, to comply with BRAC 2005 law.