More than 500 people attended the 2009 BRAC to the Future. Participants heard from various commands that are in the process of transferring some 4,700 jobs to Redstone Arsenal.

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Of the 2,407 jobs transferred to Redstone 85 percent (2,063) of them have been filled. Most of the positions filled were with workers from outside of the Tennessee Valley.

In addition to updates on the number of jobs moved to Redstone and status of construction activity, attendees of the third annual BRAC to the Future community conference, presented by System Studies and Simulation and hosted by the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee, heard from top officials representing the Missile Defense Agency, Redstone Test Center and Army Materiel Command.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Terry Feehan, MDA’s deputy program manager for ballistic missile defense system, said that he and his wife are examples of the type of people BRAC is brining.

“I arrived in June with my wife. We were in a restaurant and realized we were not in New England anymore. You don’t have to be in uniform to be treated kindly here. When I recruit people here I don’t take them the our new building on the arsenal, I take them to all of the new housing developments being built, I take them by the technology park to all of the high-tech employers, and I drive them by the university and they see new buildings. Huntsville is a very exciting place,” Feehan said. Continue »

Feehan said that MDA will realign 2,248 government and contractor positions from the National Capital Region to Huntsville where workers will focus on development, test, integration, and fielding of MDA projects. Feehan says that Huntsville will remain a growth area for MDA and by 2012 the majority of all MDA activities will be performed in Huntsville.

A new organization formed from the BRAC decisions, Redstone Test Center, came from the merger of the Army Aviation Technical Test Center at Ft. Rucker and the Redstone Technical Test Center at the arsenal. The new organization will be responsible for rotary wing air platform development and acquisition, test and evaluation. According to David Byrd, technical director of RTC, the work performed by RTC is what is traditionally done by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Byrd said that Huntsvillians are going to see more helicopters overhead but that safety and noise mitigation are the No.1 priority.

BRAC is also bringing to Redstone Arsenal the Army Materiel Command headed by the Army’s first female four-star Gen. Ann. E. Dunwoody. Teresa Gerton, acting executive deputy the commanding general, said that 370 people have moved to Huntsville. Gerton says that AMC plans to have 500 employees here by the end of this fiscal year.

Gerton said that the community’s enthusiasm for Huntsville is an important part of getting AMC personnel to relocate. Gerton said that brownbag sessions have been great motivators for current employees to relocate. She hopes that they continue.

"The interaction between your community and the workforce was very successful, and we're looking to do that again," Gerton said. "When they meet people and they hear from you firsthand, their enthusiasm level goes up."

This year, BRAC to the Future was also the site for a special Hail to USASAC luncheon to officially welcome Brig. Gen. Christopher Tucker, commanding general of the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command.

Tucker says that 40 percent of USASAC’s workforce will relocate, which he claims is an above average percentage in the Army. Tucker also said that USASAC is two years ahead of schedule because the command officially moved headquarters earlier in 2009 as opposed to 2011.

"We are very proud to be part of the Tennessee Valley, the Huntsville-Madison communities and to be one of the great commands at Redstone Arsenal," he said.

Tucker said that USASAC has already hosted delegations from Morocco, South Korea and India.

“You will see an increase in international travel and you will also see an increase in international interest as our international partners come here and see what we have in the Redstone community,” Tucker said.