Col. Karl Konzelman of the U.S. Army explains the purpose of a Tuesday meeting at Fort Eustis meant to gather feedback about possible troop reductions at the base. (Gregory Connolly/WYDaily)
Community leaders from throughout Hampton Roads sent a message to U.S. Army leadership on Tuesday: Fort Eustis is a valuable asset, and any cuts to personnel at the base would harm the region.
A representative from the Pentagon joined senior leadership from Joint Base Langley-Eustis at a meeting Tuesday at the fort to listen to comments from the public regarding a potential drawdown of troops and civilian personnel at the base that could result in up to 4,200 positions being cut by 2017.
“We have to recognize the fact that we’re going to get smaller as an Army,” Maj. Gen. Ross E. Ridge, the senior commander of the Army element stationed at the fort, said during the meeting. “We don’t know the overall impact. We don’t know how it’s going to affect Fort Eustis. We don’t know overall how it’s going to affect the other installations in and around the Virginia area.”
Changes in federal spending and a decrease in troop deployments to overseas theaters like Iraq and Afghanistan have prompted the federal government to push the U.S. Army to reduce its personnel levels from 570,000 to between 440,000 and 450,000 by fall 2017. Additional cuts could reduce that number to 420,000 by fall 2019.
The cuts to personnel will be made across 30 U.S. Army installations, one of which is Fort Eustis. An analysis by the military anticipates that up to 3,400 of the slashed positions would be soldiers, while up to 753 would be civilians. The analysis also shows the full cuts would cost the region $312 million in tax revenue per year. About 83 percent of service members stationed there live outside the base.
The meeting featured a series of speakers from Hampton Roads, including York County Supervisor Thomas Shepperd, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. Shepperd began his remarks by asking everyone in the room with some kind of connection to the U.S. Department of Defense to raise their hands, and almost every hand in the room went up.
“You have support here that you will not get anywhere else,” Shepperd said. “You have access here that you will not get anywhere else. Communities have spent money, tax dollars, and we’ve committed to the services. All the communities here are willing to work together to help the Army in its time of making adjustments. When you make these changes, be it one person or be it thousands of people, you’re making a rip in the fabric.”
Shepperd said he understands the need to draw down troop strength after a war comes to a close. He said Hampton Roads is uniquely positioned to serve all five branches of the armed forces, and the communities in the area are largely composed of people who either serve, have served or are connected to people who have served, creating personal and financial bonds between the region and the armed services.
“We love the Army,” he said. “We do not want to see the Army leave.”
Along with feedback received from speakers at Tuesday’s meeting, several other forces will factor into the Army’s decision about whether to draw down troops and civilian employees at Fort Eustis, including strategic considerations, troop readiness, mission command, requirements of federal law, feasibility of a drawdown and effects on the environment and the region’s communities and economy.
A decision on whether personnel at Fort Eustis will be drawn down will not come until late spring or early summer at the earliest.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman (R-1), Scott Rigell (R-2) and Bobby Scott (D-3) all sent videotaped statements. Wittman called the base a “vital asset” to the region, state and nation.
“We’re committed to working with the Army and local and state leadership to mitigate effects [of a troop drawdown],” said Scott, whose district includes most of the base.
Several prominent Newport News community leaders spoke, including Mayor McKinley L. Price. All but a sliver of Fort Eustis is located in Newport News.
“Fort Eustis has been an integral part of our community since early 20th century,” he said. “We’re certainly proud to be home to this great installation.”
Price said mandatory cuts to troop levels will have an effect on readiness and troop training, a sentiment shared by several other speakers at the meeting. He said his city has a deep relationship with the base, including a mutual-aid agreement between the city and base fire departments, a shared weapons training range and an elementary school on base operated by Newport News Public Schools.
Newport News City Councilwoman Sharon Scott represents the section of the city where Fort Eustis resides. She said a drawdown in troops would adversely affect small businesses around the base.
“The military has really made a major impact,” Scott said. “We don’t want to have to pass an additional burden to our citizens because the people in Washington decided they needed to take 4,200 people away from this base.”
Thomas Nelson Community College President John T. Dever said the base is a particularly valuable part of TNCC’s relationship with the military. He said 28 percent of TNCC students indicate some kind of military affiliation, whether active duty, retired or a dependent of a service member. TNCC is also offering two courses on base.
Representatives from the City of Hampton, the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, the office of the Virginia Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs and the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance all expressed similar sentiments about the importance of the base to the region. The Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance also sent representatives to the meeting. The Alliance believes the fort is a valuable asset in the region and that a reduction in troops would harm the area’s economy.