In our first article we discussed what BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) was and how it affects communities differently around the country.

Remember there will be 100,000 new students coming to Fort Sam and the potential revenue they possess will impact San Antonio for decades to come. This being the second article in our series about BRAC, we are going to discuss what exactly is happening at Fort Sam Houston.

A few of the new missions organized under the BRAC will be the Army Modular Force, Medical Education and Training Campuses, Medical Research and Medical Care. These missions are on schedule to go in effect in fiscal years 2009, 2010 and finishing in 2011.

The first reorganized mission is the Army Modular Force. This is more of a restructure of the BRAC. The Army Modular will be made up of the Headquarters for the Army North, Headquarters for Army South, the 470th, Military Brigade, 56th Sig Battalion, the 512th Engineering Detachment and the 323rd Army Band.

The second mission is a direct result from the BRAC called the Medical Education and Training Campuses. In military terms it will be referred to as the Medical Education Training Command. Existing medical training campuses will be consolidating to San Antonio. This will be made up of the following; The Great Lakes Naval Station, Sheppard Air Base, San Diego Navy Medical Center, Walter Reed Training Center and the Portsmouth Navy Medical Center.

The third new mission organized under the BRAC is the new Research Center. Again, consolidation of existing campuses will be used to create this research facility. It will be made up of the following: Brooks-City Base, Great Lakes Navy Station Research, Bethesda Research and Walter Reed Research Center.

The Medical Care Facility is going to be moving across town from the 59th Medical Training Wing, Willford Hall. This is going to be the in-patient facility joining forces with the existing Brook Army Medial Center (BAMC).

Under the BRAC, the government is spending a great deal of money constructing these new facilities. The new missions are going to bring in new residents to San Antonio.

For fiscal year 2009, the on-post construction budget is $957 Million. The population growth to San Antonio is expected to be 1024.

In fiscal year 2010, the growth is estimated to be 5479 newly assigned personnel. The allotted budget is $686 Million.

Finalizing the BRAC directives, fiscal year 2011 will have $23Million is construction and 4310 newly assigned San Antonians.

If you look at the increase just in the assigned personnel, not including the students, you can see there is tremendous growth. These assigned personnel will bring their families to San Antonio; they will need any and all services just like the existing population.

In future articles, we will discuss how we can grow and prosper economically by building the infrastructure outside the base to support our new neighbors.