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Brigade cell is moving on

Apr-28-2004 » Filed Under: General Military

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MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

Fort Lewis formally closed the books Tuesday on the program that for the past 4 1/2 years made it one of the most-watched posts in the Army.

Now that they've finished building the first two Stryker brigades, the planners, procurement officers and tacticians who led the effort are moving on. The Brigade Coordination Cell, as it was known, will take up permanent residence at the Army's Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Ga.

That the 100-member cell is leaving represents a modest disappointment to local civic and business leaders.

They wanted to persuade the Army to keep the cell here and make Fort Lewis its transformation "center of excellence." They hoped the designation would lead to more defense contractors coming to the South Sound.

But civilian and Army officials say even though the cell is leaving, there's still much to show for it.

The Army spent a reported $3 billion on the two Stryker brigades and more than $300 million in new construction at Fort Lewis over the past four years. Much of the building was for new facilities to train and deploy combat forces - the Stryker brigades and whatever units come to Fort Lewis after them.


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