WMA Adopts Ops Plan

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Taste of AUSA

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Boeing OK Start Up

Boeing today broke ground in Oklahoma City on a new 290,000 square-foot facility with space for approximately 800 employees.

Aircraft Modernization and Sustainment provides support and modernization services for U.S. and coalition lift, executive transport, airborne refueling, airborne command and control, and global strike capabilities. This includes commercial derivative aircraft, airborne early warning and control platforms, C-17 Globemaster III maintenance, tanker maintenance and support, and bomber/weapons modernization and logistics.

During the groundbreaking ceremony Global Services & Support (GS&S) President Leanne Caret announced that headquarters for GS&S’ Aircraft Modernization and Sustainment (AM&S) division would move to Oklahoma City in the months ahead. This decision transfers approximately a dozen senior management positions to Oklahoma City and reflects the site’s importance to the company.

The new structure, the third in Boeing’s existing campus, will open in summer 2016 and house employees working in engineering, research and development laboratories, and some support staff.
 “We see a bright horizon for the aircraft sustainment business because of the highly trained and motivated workforce we have in Oklahoma City,” said Caret. “Expanding our presence and bringing AM&S headquarters here continues a trend of combining Oklahoma’s home-grown talent with the best of the enterprise to support some of our customers’ most critical missions.”

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin participated in the event and described its importance. “Business growth is critical for both Oklahoma and Boeing. Your decision to place key leadership positions here underscores the long-term nature of our partnership. Today's announcement will help solidify our position as a premiere destination for the aerospace industry,” said Gov. Fallin.

ADC Forum Coming Aug. 20-21

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Noteworthies with a Local Link

The Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert announced today the assignment of Capt. Stephen F. Williamson, selected for promotion to rear admiral (lower half), as director, fleet maintenance, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Williamson is currently serving as commander, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bremerton, Washington.

The chief of staff, Army announced the assignment of Col. (Promotable) Daniel R. Walrath, deputy commander, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. He most recently served as chief of staff, 7th Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

Open Houses for JLUS Public Iinput

The Joint Land Use Study for Joint Base Lewis-McChord is nearing completion, and open houses will be held in July to seek public input.

The JBLM JLUS is a collaborative process among federal, regional, and local governments and agencies; tribes; the public; and the south Puget Sound region’s military installations, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and Camp Murray.

The study is designed to create a collective regional dialogue around sometimes complex issues of balancing military operational demands and mission changes with the region’s and local communities’ land use plans, economic development and infrastructure needs, and goals for environmental sustainability.

The study area generally encompasses those communities within two miles of the JBLM boundary.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend -

Public Hearing Dates and Locations: Joint Base Lewis-McChord Joint Land Use Study

20-22 July 2015, Various Locations, 5:00-7:00pm

SSMCP and AECOM staff will be on hand to answer questions and receive feedback from the public on the currently ongoing Joint Land Use Study. Three open-house style meetings will be held at:

• Monday, 20 July, 5-7pm at the Sprinker Recreation Center, 14824 C St S, Tacoma, WA 98444
• Tuesday, 21 July, 5-7pm at Yelm Public Safety Bldg., 206 McKenzie Ave., Yelm, 98597
• Wednesday, 22 July, 5-7pm at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St SW, Lakewood, WA 98499

For more information, check out the JBLM JLUS Website.

Last School Gets Final Funding

Today, the Depart- ment of Defense announced that it has awarded a $40 million grant to Clover Park School District to rebuild Evergreen Elementary School.

Last year, Sen. Murray, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, and Rep. Heck, whose district includes Joint Base Lewis-McChord, fought to secure federal funding for defense projects in Washington State, including the construction of new schools that serve military families.

“This investment is a significant step toward fulfilling our promise to support our local military communities and their families,” Senator Murray said. “These schools are not only a place for children to learn, but also serve as a support system for our military families. As the daughter of a World War II veteran and a former preschool teacher, I will always fight to make sure our schools are getting the investments they need, especially those serving families that sacrifice so much for their country.”

“Our community can’t wait for this critically important project to break ground,” Congressman Heck said. “Many children of servicemembers stationed at JBLM attend Evergreen and we want to make sure this school is well-equipped to handle each student’s education needs.”

“For years our community has worked together to secure funds to support our servicemembers and their families,” said Congressman Smith, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee. “All children in the Puget Sound region must have access to a high quality education and I am pleased that these DoD funds will be used to ensure that our students needs are being met.”

“Clover Park School District is extremely excited to receive the news that funding to replace the sixth and final school on JBLM is approved,” said Debbie LeBeau, Superintendent of the Clover Park School District. “These school construction projects would not have been possible without the advocacy and determination of Senator Patty Murray, Congressman Denny Heck (and before him Congressman Dicks) and Congressman Adam Smith. They wanted to ensure that military dependents have state of the art learning environments to go along with the high quality instruction provided by our teachers.  Evergreen is a very special school serving students with disabilities that requires specialized instructional spaces. Updated technology, classroom spaces and improved access for physically challenged students will greatly improve the quality of education for our students.”

The grant comes through the DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment Public School Recapitalization program, which has supported extensive school construction efforts at Joint Base Lewis McChord. Previous projects include Hillside Elementary School, Carter Lake Elementary School, Beachwood Elementary School, Meriwether Elementary School, and Rainier Elementary School.

ADC Hosts PNW Defense Forum

Hello community:

You can now register for the first ever Association of Defense Communities’ Pacific Northwest Defense Forum, to be held August 20-21 at the American Lake Conference Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

The event will feature legislative leaders as well as national, state and local military and civilian experts on a wide range of defense issues, such as effects from the Army downsizing announcement in 2015, expanding missions for installations in the northwest, evolving community-military relations for the future, and more.

Go HERE to view more details about the event, and click on the top right link to register. 

Thank you and see you there!

Army Announces Force Structure and Stationing Decisions

The Department of the Army announced today force structure decisions and stationing plans for the reduction of the regular Army from 490,000 to 450,000 soldiers.

The reduction of force structure will occur in fiscal years 2016 and 2017; the reduction of 40,000 end strength will be completed by the end of fiscal year 2018, and will be accompanied by the reduction of 17,000 Department of the Army civilian employees. These cuts will impact nearly every Army installation, both in the continental United States and overseas.

As part of these reductions, the number of regular Army brigade combat teams, the basic deployable units of maneuver in the Army, will continue to reduce from a wartime high of 45 to 30 by the end of fiscal year 2017. The Army will convert both the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia and the 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska into smaller units—maneuver battalion task forces—by the end of fiscal year 2017. While brigade combat teams consist of approximately 4,000 soldiers, these battalion task forces will be comprised of approximately 1,050 soldiers.

Additionally, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division will remain a brigade combat team, but will convert its primary maneuver platform. Currently, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division is a Stryker brigade combat team, however, it will become an infantry brigade combat team without Stryker combat vehicles. Additionally, the Army is analyzing a proposal to use the brigade combat team’s current Stryker equipment to convert an Army National Guard brigade combat team in the Pacific Northwest to a Stryker configuration.

The Army selected these brigade combat teams for reorganization based on a variety of factors including strategic requirements and the inherent military value of the installations where they are based. The force structure decisions announced today best posture a smaller Army to meet global commitments.

“Budget constraints are forcing us to reduce the Total Army,” said Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Army deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7. “These were very difficult decisions to make as all of our installations and their communities offer tremendous value to our Army and the nation. In the end, we had to make decisions based on a number of strategic factors, to include readiness impacts, mission command and cost.”

If the fiscal-caps of the 2011 Budget Control Act caps, commonly referred to as sequestration, are not addressed, the Army’s end-strength will be further reduced to 420,000 soldiers by the end of fiscal year 2019. This will result in a cumulative loss of 150,000 soldiers from the regular Army – a 26 percent cut over a seven year period. The resulting force would be incapable of simultaneously meeting current deployment requirements and responding to the overseas contingency requirements of the combatant commands.

Public Hearings Set for JBLM's Joint Land Use Study

The Joint Land Use Study for Joint Base Lewis-McChord is nearing completion, and open houses will be held in July to seek public input.

The JBLM JLUS is a collaborative process among federal, regional, and local governments and agencies; tribes; the public; and the south Puget Sound region’s military installations, Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and Camp Murray. The study is designed to create a collective regional dialogue around sometimes complex issues of balancing military operational demands and mission changes with the region’s and local communities’ land use plans, economic development and infrastructure needs, and goals for environmental sustainability. The study area generally encompasses those communities within two miles of the JBLM boundary.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend -

Public Hearing Dates and Locations:
Joint Base Lewis-McChord Joint Land Use Study
20-22 July 2015, Various Locations, 5:00-7:00pm
South Sound Military & Communities Partnership and AECOM (contractor) staff will be on hand to answer questions and receive feedback from the public on the currently ongoing Joint Land Use Study.

Three open-house style meetings will be held at:
• Monday, 20 July, 5-7pm at the Sprinker Recreation Center, 14824 C St S, Tacoma, WA 98444
• Tuesday, 21 July, 5-7pm at Yelm Public Safety Bldg., 206 McKenzie Ave., Yelm, 98597
• Wednesday, 22 July, 5-7pm at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St SW, Lakewood, WA 98499

For more information, check out the JBLM JLUS Website.

Noteworthies with a Local Link

The chief of staff, Army announced the assignment of Maj. Gen. William K. Fuller, deputy chief of staff, operations, Resolute Support Mission, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, Operation Freedom's Sentinel, Afghanistan, to deputy commanding general, I Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.