The U.S. Army announced Dec. 19 unit stationing decisions to support the President's plan to grow the Army by 74,200 Soldiers across all three Army components. This growth includes the stationing of six new infantry brigade combat teams, eight support brigades in the active component, and associated growth in smaller combat support and combat service support units required to complement the U.S. Army's overall force-structure growth. The foundation for this stationing plan is implementation of Base Realignment and Closure-directed realignments. This plan relocates the 1st Armored Division from Germany to Fort Bliss Texas, and the 1st Infantry Division from Germany to Fort Riley, Kan., and Fort Knox, Ky., by September 2011. The plan extends brigade combat team capabilities in the European command for an additional two years through the activation of two brigade combat teams in Germany in 2008 and 2010. This supports near-term theater security needs, and reduces stress and turbulence on Soldiers and Families by allowing needed time for construction to support transformation, BRAC realignments, and Grow the Army stationing.
The Army currently has 42 Active Component brigade combat teams. Complying with the Record of Decision for the Army's Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, the Army will grow six infantry brigade combat teams for a total of 48 by: retaining one infantry brigade combat team at Fort Carson, Colo., as the 43rd Brigade Combat Team (Fiscal Year 2008); activating the 44th Brigade Combat Team at Fort Bliss, Texas, in Fiscal Year 2009; converting one heavy brigade combat team to an infantry brigade combat team at Fort Stewart, Ga. in Fiscal Year 2010; and growing three infantry brigade combat teams in Fiscal Year 2011, one each at Fort Stewart, Ga.(46th BCT), Fort Carson, Colo. (47th BCT), and Fort Bliss, Texas (48th BCT). The two brigade combat teams stationed in Germany for two years will relocate in Fiscal Year 2012 and 2013 respectively. These units tentatively are to go to Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
The Army will also activate eight active component support brigades and restation two others as part of rebalancing the force at the following locations: In Fiscal Year 08, an air defense artillery brigade headquarters activates at Fort Hood, Texas, and an engineer brigade headquarters activates at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; in Fiscal Year 2009, a maneuver enhancement brigade activates at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo; in Fiscal Year 2010 a fires brigade activates at Fort Bliss, Texas, and a maneuver enhancement brigade will be restationed to Fort Richardson, Alaska, pending completion of supplemental environmental analysis in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act; in Fiscal Year 2011, an expeditionary sustainment command headquarters activates at Fort Lewis, Wash., and a sustainment brigade activates at Fort Hood, Texas; in Fiscal Year 2013, a military police brigade will be retained at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, a battlefield surveillance brigade activates at Fort Polk, La., and a maneuver enhancement brigade will be restationed to Fort Drum, N.Y.
To support these six infantry brigade combat teams and eight support brigades, the Army simultaneously is announcing the stationing of approximately 30,000 Soldiers in combat support and combat service support units throughout the United States as well as various overseas locations. The details are contained in a report directed by the Fiscal Year 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations' Act requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a stationing plan to support Army Growth.