Fort Bliss Monitor

Troop Talk

On June 29, I ran with E Battery, 2-43 ADA and received the following questions from Soldiers in the unit.

I know that there are plans in the works to build more housing and renovate some of the housing on post. However, in light of the BRAC recommendation to move more units to Fort Bliss, are there any plans to build more housing, either on post or off post, to accommodate the influx of Soldiers?

GMH Military Housing, a private firm, will develop, construct, renovate and operate existing and proposed family housing at Fort Bliss over the next 50 years. July 1, GMH Military Housing assumed operations and management of the 2,752 existing homes (206 of which are historic).

The plan developed by Residential Communities Initiative and GMH involves new construction, renovations, historical renovations and general community upgrades. Approximately 1,449 existing homes will be demolished, 1,659 new state-of-the-art homes will be constructed and 1,163 renovations to existing homes, including 206 historic renovations will be performed.

GMH has developed 22 different house plans based upon grade and number of bedrooms. All homes are at least three-bedroom homes. Junior enlisted homes feature a single-car garage with two additional off-street parking spaces, while senior enlisted and officer homes feature two-car garages with two additional off-street parking spaces.

In addition, a new community center with a large swimming pool and basketball court will be built along with four neighborhood centers. Each center features a spacious facility with large rooms for social gatherings such as receptions, parties, conferences, and neighborhood meetings. Also to be built are five sport courts, 55 tot lots, five spraygrounds and five walking paths.

Approximately $322 million in private sector debt and equity will be spent within the first six-year period of development. Construction will begin in the South Officer’s Neighborhood which will contain 53 four-bedroom, 185 three-bedroom and 13 handicapped accessible homes for a total of 251 new homes to be built during the six-year initial development period. The three and four-bedroom homes are approximately 1,760 and 2,080 square feet, respectively. Company grade officers in the ranks of O1-O3 and WO1-CW3 will occupy these homes.

When will Soldiers be able to purchase and begin wearing the new Army Combat Uniform?

According to the latest information received by the Clothing Sales store here, the ACU is scheduled to be in the stores sometime in 2006.

What does the future of our branch (ADA) look like?

The Air Defense Branch will remain as a branch even if the ADA School is moved to Fort Sill, Okla., as recommended by the Secretary to the BRAC commission. Transformation of the branch has resulted in many changes. No longer will all ADA assets remain at one installation like Fort Bliss. One ADA brigade is designated to go to Fort Sill and become part of the Net Fires Center, another may go to Fort Bragg, N.C.
However, the future of ADA looks very bright. The new technology used to improve the lethality of the Patriot PAC 3 missile has added a whole new dimension to the capabilities of that system. MEADS and Patriot are currently being worked as a Combined Aggregate Program. SLAMRAAM is another system that will soon be added to the ADA inventory. In tests the SLAMRAAM and JLENS were combined to counter the emerging cruise missile threat. The C-RAM program involves the testing of the Phalanx weapons system currently used by the Navy, which includes retooling it with sensors to communicate with other ADA sensors which can easily be integrated into the defense of forward operating bases. There are several articles on these systems in this issue of the ADA Magazine. In the next issue there will be a whole section on future ADA systems. The magazine can be accessed online through the Fort Bliss home page, Air Defense Artillery School.

Brig. Gen. Robert P. Lennox
Fort Bliss Commanding General



www.bliss.army.mil	Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community	June 14, 2005

	Troop Talk On June 29, I ran with E Battery, 2-43 ADA and received the following questions from Soldiers in the unit. I know that there are plans in the works to build more housing and renovate some of the housing on post. However, in light of the BRAC recommendation to move more units to Fort Bliss, are there any plans to build more housing, either on post or off post, to accommodate the influx of Soldiers? GMH Military Housing, a private firm, will develop, construct, renovate and operate existing and proposed family housing at Fort Bliss over the next 50 years. July 1, GMH Military Housing assumed operations and management of the 2,752 existing homes (206 of which are historic). The plan developed by Residential Communities Initiative and GMH involves new construction, renovations, historical renovations and general community upgrades. Approximately 1,449 existing homes will be demolished, 1,659 new state-of-the-art homes will be constructed and 1,163 renovations to existing homes, including 206 historic renovations will be performed. GMH has developed 22 different house plans based upon grade and number of bedrooms. All homes are at least three-bedroom homes. Junior enlisted homes feature a single-car garage with two additional off-street parking spaces, while senior enlisted and officer homes feature two-car garages with two additional off-street parking spaces. In addition, a new community center with a large swimming pool and basketball court will be built along with four neighborhood centers. Each center features a spacious facility with large rooms for social gatherings such as receptions, parties, conferences, and neighborhood meetings. Also to be built are five sport courts, 55 tot lots, five spraygrounds and five walking paths. Approximately $322 million in private sector debt and equity will be spent within the first six-year period of development. Construction will begin in the South Officer’s Neighborhood which will contain 53 four-bedroom, 185 three-bedroom and 13 handicapped accessible homes for a total of 251 new homes to be built during the six-year initial development period. The three and four-bedroom homes are approximately 1,760 and 2,080 square feet, respectively. Company grade officers in the ranks of O1-O3 and WO1-CW3 will occupy these homes. When will Soldiers be able to purchase and begin wearing the new Army Combat Uniform? According to the latest information received by the Clothing Sales store here, the ACU is scheduled to be in the stores sometime in 2006. What does the future of our branch (ADA) look like? The Air Defense Branch will remain as a branch even if the ADA School is moved to Fort Sill, Okla., as recommended by the Secretary to the BRAC commission. Transformation of the branch has resulted in many changes. No longer will all ADA assets remain at one installation like Fort Bliss. One ADA brigade is designated to go to Fort Sill and become part of the Net Fires Center, another may go to Fort Bragg, N.C. However, the future of ADA looks very bright. The new technology used to improve the lethality of the Patriot PAC 3 missile has added a whole new dimension to the capabilities of that system. MEADS and Patriot are currently being worked as a Combined Aggregate Program. SLAMRAAM is another system that will soon be added to the ADA inventory. In tests the SLAMRAAM and JLENS were combined to counter the emerging cruise missile threat. The C-RAM program involves the testing of the Phalanx weapons system currently used by the Navy, which includes retooling it with sensors to communicate with other ADA sensors which can easily be integrated into the defense of forward operating bases. There are several articles on these systems in this issue of the ADA Magazine. In the next issue there will be a whole section on future ADA systems. The magazine can be accessed online through the Fort Bliss home page, Air Defense Artillery School. Brig. Gen. Robert P. Lennox Fort Bliss Commanding General