Army undersecretary visits Bragg, Pope - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Army undersecretary visits Bragg, Pope

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — A top Army civilian leader will be at Fort Bragg on Friday to tour the new U.S. Army Forces Command Headquarters and discuss the base's expansion with local leaders.

Army Undersecretary Joseph W. Westphal was set to tour Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base for his first time since taking office in September 2009.

He previously served as acting secretary of the army in 2001 and is the second highest-ranking civilian in the Army, a key adviser on the Army's operation from training troops to the kind of weapons purchased.

Westphal is being hosted by Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, the commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps.

Westphal was scheduled to meet with state and local leaders to discuss a massive expansion of Fort Bragg, which has been planning for growth since 2005.

The Base Realignment and Closure commission ordered U.S. Forces Command — which oversees training of soldiers for deployment — and U.S. Army Reserve Command — which oversees reserve forces around the country — to move from Atlanta to Fort Bragg, which is now home to more than 50,000 soldiers.

The move is scheduled to be completed by 2011.

The counties surrounding Fort Bragg will gain more than 40,000 in population, including 25,000 in military families. Fort Bragg will also grow from its current 50,000 soldiers and civilians to about 70,000. The move is expected to create an estimated 19,000 jobs on and off the post.

But many issues still remain, including improving infrastructure, housing and schools.

A 2008 report on how growth at Fort Bragg will affect the region found that building new schools and staffing them will be a big challenge for counties and the state. The report said three counties next to the huge Army post alone will gain more than 7,000 students in five years. More than $300 million will be needed to build schools and provide services, the report said.