This presentation was given to the Rotary Club of Richmond Hill to discuss the impact of Base Realignment and Closure on Fort Stewart & Hunter Army Airfield. For more information, visit friendsofftstewartandhunter.com

1. Rotary Club of Richmond Hill
October 16, 2014

2.  Using a standard Economic
Impact multiplier of 2.2, the
Total Economic Impact
$4.9 Billion
 In 2012, Fort Stewart/Hunter
Army Airfield had an annual
payroll of $1,528,444,989
 Annual expenditures of
$685,715,000
 Retiree payroll of
$151,092,000
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LARGEST
INDUSTRY IN THE
SAVANNAH REGION
Economic Impact
$4.9Billion Per
Annum

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COUNTY POPULATION SALARIES
Liberty County 10,694 $485,704,971
Chatham County 8,776 $416,379,835
On Post (Stewart and Hunter) 8,726 $410,489,521
Bryan County 1,441 $72,422,301
Long County 692 $35,411,564
Tattnall County 447 $26,597,322
Wayne County 94 $4,875,167
Effingham County 35 $1,788,873
Bulloch County 31 $1,589,622
Evans County 25 $1,754,988
McIntosh County 22 $1,243,724
Glynn County 9 $448,588
Other 1,588 $69,738,513
Total 26,762 $1,528,444,989

4. 1) Sequestration
2) Outside of BRAC
3) BRAC
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5.  Congress created the BRAC process in 1988 as a more
politically palatable method to pursue infrastructure
reductions.
 More than 350 installations have been closed in five
BRAC rounds
 1989
 1991
 1993
 1995
 Most recent BRAC round completed in 2005.
 Next BRAC will focus on reducing excess capacity –
closing facilities and reducing infrastructure costs.
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6.  Defense officials allocated $2.4 billion in the
FY 2014 budget proposal to cover the upfront
BRAC process costs.
 DOD has indicated a BRAC authorization will
be requested again in the FY 2015 budget
request.
 2005 BRAC was projected to cost $21 billion,
the actual cost was $35.1 billion.
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7. The Army’s BRAC position is based on budget-driven
force reductions, which top leaders say must be
matched to associated infrastructure.
The Army plans to accomplish its drawdown in forces
by eliminating 10 brigade combat teams in the U.S.
Active Army forces are currently projected to be reduced
to 520,000 in FY 2014, to 490,000 by 2017, and could
go as low as 420,000 if sequestration continues.
National Guard end strength will decline by 8,000, while
authorizations in the Army Reserve will decrease by
1,000 to 205,000 between FY 2012 and FY 2017.
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8.  The House and Senate Armed Services Committees
have rejected BRAC in their respective versions of
the FY14 defense authorization bill.
 The House Veteran’s Affairs/Military Construction
Appropriations Committee also rejected BRAC.
 However, there are folks in DC who are reviewing
there thinking and the possibility that a BRAC could
occur is looming larger for 2017.
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9.  With or without a BRAC, we will be cutting uniform
and civilian personnel.
 Is it better to have a BRAC or face the consequences
of DOD cuts “outside of BRAC?”
 One of the strengths of the BRAC process is the
ability for a community to plead its case to a
‘nonpartisan’ body – there is no institutional
protection “outside of BRAC.”
 DOD officials have repeatedly warned in
congressional testimony and in public speeches
that actions ‘outside of BRAC’ will occur absent a
BRAC authorization.
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10.  In FY 2013, DOD and all of the services were
allocated $620 billion under a full-year
Continuing Resolution (CR).
 Before sequestration, DOD was planning for
$487 billion in cuts over 10 years as mandated
by the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.
 With full sequestration, DOD would cut an
additional $500 billion through 2021,
approximately $50 billion per year.
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11.  April 2009: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
announces cuts to the 5th Brigade Combat Team
(BCT) – cut of 3,500 soldiers.
 June 25, 2013: The Army announces cuts to the
2nd BCT, 3rd Infantry Division (Armor Heavy) – cut of
1,350 soldiers.
 Soldier end strength as January 2013 - roughly
21,157.
 By 2019, it was projected to be 19,785.
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12. • What would you do if you lost 20% of your sales
in your business?
• What would happen if 50,000 additional people
needed to use our hospitals?
• How would our region adapt to 25% of
businesses closing or reducing operations?
• How would our region be impacted if half of the
residents left and moved outside of Coastal
Georgia?
Our objective – avoid cuts to another BCT at Fort
Stewart – Hunter Army Airfield

13. • Unified message leveraging all resources
• Be aggressive and proactive
• Well-timed meetings in Washington D.C. (Pentagon
and Congress)
• Quick reaction to changing conditions
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14. • Join Southeast Georgia Friends of Fort
Stewart and Hunter as a member or partner.
Together, we will work to protect
everyone’s economic and national security
interests
• Attend the Nov. 17 Listening Session
at 6 PM in Hinesville. (Location TBD)

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www.friendsofftstewartandhunter.com
director@friendsofftstewartandhunter.com