Military is Major Force in Coastal Economy
Published Aug 18, 2009
Coastal Georgia is home to major military installations that not only contribute to the region’s unique identity but to the regional economy.
Fort Stewart, home of the Army 3rd Infantry Division, is a 280,000-acre installation that sprawls into parts of five counties and is the largest armor training facility east of the Mississippi River. About 45 minutes away is Hunter Army Airfield, a 5,300-acre base that has the longest runway on the East Coast and can handle both 747 and C5B Aircraft.
Combined, the two bases are home to more than 21,000 soldiers and their dependents, generate annual direct federal expenditures of $1.2 billion, and employ 4,300 civilian workers and 25,000 military personnel.
The Army plans to transfer another brigade to Fort Stewart in 2010, an influx that is expected to bring roughly 6,000 new residents, including soldiers and their families.
“All of us have been working with the counties in that area to make sure that when those boots hit the ground, we’re prepared for them,” says Allen Burns, executive director of the Coastal Regional Development Center.
The Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Camden County is home to more than 5,200 active duty personnel, nearly 2,100 civilian employees and 1,700 contractors.
Kings Bay has an annual payroll of more than $500 million and generates an economic impact through goods and services purchases of another $67.5 million.
“Any time the military bases do anything that increases their payroll, or increases the amount of construction at the base, those are dollars that move through the community,” Burns says. “We view that much as we view a new industrial company coming into the region. You can feel that impact.”
Story by Michaela Jackson
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