Redstone breaks ground for missile defense facility
2nd phase of complex will consolidate city's 800 MDA workers
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Military and elected officials turned over fresh dirt Tuesday in a ceremony that's becoming familiar to Redstone Arsenal.
Ground was broken for a facility to house Missile Defense Agency employees who are now working off the military base. The $38 million building is the second phase of the Von Braun Complex. The first phase of the complex was completed in late 2003 and houses about 1,000 people from the Army Space & Missile Defense Command.
Tuesday's ceremony was the first step in bringing together the majority of U.S. missile defense work onto Redstone, said Rep. Bud Cramer, D-Huntsville.
"It's early and often that we like to dig up this dirt out here on the arsenal," the congressman told a crowd of about 100 at the ceremony. The building, slated to be completed by May 2007, will be used by 828 Missile Defense Agency workers who are scattered across the city.
Lt. Gen. Henry Obering III, MDA director, said Redstone provides a more secure location for the workers. The new facility allows MDA "to consolidate our work space and do our job more effectively," Obering said.
To deal with recent Base Realignment and Closure Commission decisions, Cramer is working to secure more military construction money for another phase of the Von Braun office complex.
In August, the BRAC panel voted to relocate the Army Materiel Command, the bulk of the Missile Defense Agency and the headquarters of the Army Space & Missile Defense Command from the Washington, D.C., area to Huntsville. More than 1,700 military jobs are expected to come with the Army Materiel Command (AMC), and, by some estimates, all the moves could bring an additional 2,000 to 3,000 contractor jobs to Huntsville.
The Alabama delegation in Washington, said U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, is working to get the money needed to build a third phase to the Von Braun Complex and more construction will be needed to house the AMC.
"In this budget year, we are trying to get $40 million placed in the budget for the third phase," Cramer said. "It's a good problem to have. We are going to be building (on Redstone) for several years to come."
President Bush approved the recommendations last month, and Congress is not expected to make any changes. The full Congress could vote to approve the recommendations, or, as is more widely thought, no action by Congress before the current session ends - called a "sunset" vote - will allow the bill to become law.
"I believe it will pass or sunset," Cramer said. "I'm not expecting any surprises."
© 2005 The Huntsville Times
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