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Military Official: Kentucky Army Posts Will See Another Round of BRAC

kcma.ky.gov

As operations in Iraq and Afghanistan come to a conclusion, a top military official in Kentucky says Fort Knox and Fort Campbell, like military installations around the country, might see changes in coming years.  In a speech Wednesday to the Bowling Green Noon Rotary Club, Colonel David Thompson said BRAC is coming again to military installations nationwide.

“It’s gonna come with a vengeance in my view," predicted Thompson.  "As we come out of this war effort, the infrastructure that we have out there is clearly unsupportable.  From a business perspective, you can’t have more structure than you have force.  At some point, the math is not going to work.”

In 2005, the military’s Base Realignment and Closure moved an influx of soldiers to Fort Knox and spurred massive growth in the region.  Thompson, who heads the Kentucky Commission on Military Affairs, expects another round of BRAC changes by 2017.  Recently, Fort Knox learned the post would lose its only combat brigade, which Thompson called a harbinger of things to come. 

Col. Thompson believes Fort Knox and Fort Campbell are both well positioned in the event of another BRAC.  However, he said Kentucky needs to work to increase the value of its two installations before then.

Lisa is a Scottsville native and WKU alum. She has worked in radio as a news reporter and anchor for 18 years. Prior to joining WKU Public Radio, she most recently worked at WHAS in Louisville and WLAC in Nashville. She has received numerous awards from the Associated Press, including Best Reporter in Kentucky. Many of her stories have been heard on NPR.