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Choosing A Post-Military Home And Career

February 25, 2021 By krda

*Retired Brig. Gen. Jim Iacocca, now in the role of President and CEO of the Knox Regional Development Alliance, speaking to the business community.*

There is no question that making the transition from military to civilian employment can be challenging. I’ve been through it personally and in my role as CEO of the Knox Regional Development Alliance, we regularly collaborate with agencies and organizations working to better connect employers with veterans and transitioning service members. While most employers seem eager and willing to hire veterans, the challenge of making that connection persists. As one friend put it, part of the problem is there are so many resources that you are simultaneously drowning and dying of thirst. So, three years post-retirement, here are four key pieces of advice I typically offer others:

Have a plan and start as early as you can
Determine what’s important to you
Yes, the job matters but place matters too
Expect it to be stressful

*Soldier For Life Transition Assistance Program (SFL-TAP) class.*

Have a plan and start early

The Army provides transition assistance to Soldiers up to 24 months from retirement and 18 months from separation. I know that seems like a long time, but no matter your branch of service, I would recommend you use every bit of time allowed to prepare for your transition. As I mentioned, there are so many options and resources available that without a long lead time it can be an overwhelming endeavor. Use the resources the military provides, develop a plan and take it on in bite sized pieces. Build a calendar to keep yourself on track and stick to it. That includes getting your VA physical and submitting VA paperwork before you leave the service.

Determine what’s important to you

There is no doubt you want to be able to provide for your family like you always have, but sometimes chasing a high-paying salary comes at a cost. I often tell friends to think about how important it is to be fulfilled in your work and how much you value quality of life. While not mutually exclusive, a high-paying job sometimes comes at the expense of your quality of life and the time you have with your family. Be sure to know what’s important to you and weigh the pros and cons as you entertain new employment opportunities. That leads me to my next piece of advice.

Yes, the job matters but place matters too

What do I mean by that? Well, I’ve lived in 14 different duty stations, but I’ve never lived in a more welcoming and supportive community than the Greater Fort Knox Region. The connection between the post and the community is so close it’s hard to put it into words. That was important to my wife and me. It was also a matter of dollars and cents. This is a place where our dollar goes further, and there is still great quality of place. That needs to go into your planning, too. Prepare a budget that includes cost of living expenses based on where you want to live and know how much you need to make to maintain the lifestyle you have or want.

Expect it to be stressful

Let me close by saying that no matter how much you plan as you prepare to transition and after you leave the military; it is a stressful time not only for you, but also for your family. Your routine may be changing, but be sure to respect your family’s likely long-established way of doing things. Acknowledge that you are all going from the familiar to the unfamiliar, and that’s stressful no matter how prepared you are. I’m blessed to be doing work I believe in for a community and an installation for which I have a great affinity. I hope my words of advice in some small way can help you and your family navigate this next phase of your life.

KRDA Hosts Annual Meeting

February 4, 2021 By krda

Thank you to everyone who attended the virtual annual meeting.

Fort Knox Update

Maj. Gen. John Evans shared an update on Fort Knox. With the activation of V Corps in October, the community's support was evident in welcoming over 1,650 Soldiers and family members. Evans touted that V Corps activation speaks to Fort Knox’s value.

The Commanding General of the U.S. Army Cadet Command and Fort Knox also highlighted three additional assessment programs, Battalion Command Assessment Program (BCAP), Cornel Command Assessment Program (CCAP) and Sergeant Major Assessment Program (SMAP), held at Fort Knox in 2020 bringing hundreds of leaders to the region. According to Evans, Fort Knox will remain on the shortlist when it comes to discussions on standing up missions on an Army installation.

In 2020, Cadet Summer Training (CST), the Army’s single largest training event, did not take place solely on Fort Knox due to the pandemic. Evans announced that CST will be back at Fort Knox this summer, safely bringing over seven thousand cadets to the region.

Evan also gave an update on the construction of Yano Range. Once complete it will be the only Digital Air/Ground Integration Range east of the Rockies. Evans mentioned units are already wanting to sign up for training once the new range is complete in the summer of 2023.

KRDA Report

During the annual meeting, KRDA Chairman Ray Springsteen and President and CEO Brig. Gen. (Ret) Jim Iacocca highlighted KRDA’s work to promote and protect Fort Knox and grow defense-related business in the region. Despite COVID-19, our region realized new missions on post, local defense contractor job creation and Fort Knox’s growing strategic value.

With a $2.6 billion annual economic impact, Fort Knox's importance to our regional economy can't be overstated. KRDA’s work to increase Fort Knox’s economic impact is only possible thanks to support of a generous community.

Download KRDA 2020 Annual Report

Workforce Development Vital To Economic Growth

January 7, 2021 By krda

With an annual economic impact of $2.6 billion, Fort Knox fuels our regional economy. The Knox Regional Development Alliance's (KRDA) mission is to promote and protect Fort Knox to maximize its economic impact. We make sure the community is as supportive as possible to Soldiers, their families and all who work on and off post in support of Fort Knox missions, and that includes focusing on workforce development. Here’s why:

In order to grow Fort Knox missions or defense-related business, we must have the available workforce to fill Army civilian and contractor positions.
An Army spouse’s ability to find employment impacts the Army family and that in turn impacts Army readiness.
Employers often covet veteran talent but struggle to easily connect with them.

Workforce development: focuses on activities, policies and programs that help create, sustain and retain a viable workforce.

While I was in Army Human Resource Management for nearly all of my 30 years of service, I was admittedly unaware of the vast ecosystem of workforce development professionals and volunteers who are critical to a community’s economic success. That’s where KRDA’s vice president, Beth Avey, lends her expertise. As a former small business owner, she is plugged into the workforce development community and knows how to maximize partnerships for Fort Knox’s benefit. Two great examples are the Greater Knox Coding Academy and our region’s new military spouse employment initiative.

Greater Knox Coding Academy

In early 2019, I met with leaders at the Pentagon to talk about potential opportunities for Fort Knox. From their vantage point, we had a workforce challenge when it came to information technology (IT) professionals that could make us less competitive for new missions. Further conversations with Fort Knox leaders and area defense contractors confirmed it was difficult to locally source certified IT professionals.

We started working with a local training provider, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC), and defense contractors to come up with a solution. In less than seven months the college identified the need for certified java developers, developed the curriculum, found an instructor, secured funding and recruited a class of students including several from area high schools. In spite of the pandemic, 24 students graduated from the inaugural Greater Knox Coding Academy. Many have moved into high-paying IT jobs with area defense contractors.

Taking Spouse Employment Support To A New Level

With the February 2020 announcement that Fort Knox would be home to the Army’s new corps headquarters, V Corps, we realized there would be a surge of Army families moving to our community. We knew there were great agencies on and off post available to help spouses find employment, but this larger influx of families gave us the opportunity to take a deeper dive and ask how can we do more.

On post, we met with Fort Knox Army Community Service, garrison leadership and Army Human Resources Command. Off post, we met with the local workforce board director who oversees the U.S. Department of Labor funded programs and sought the advice and insight of local business leaders. In the end, these meetings led to a more fully integrated and streamlined process between the post and the community to include a virtual destination (greaterfortknox.com/jobs) that would allow military spouses to connect with resources even before they arrived. Additionally, military spouses will be matched with a community leader who volunteers to help them grow their professional network in the region. We’re pleased to report spouses are already taking advantage of this first-of-its-kind model.

Veteran Employment

While not directly in our wheelhouse, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we are also in regular conversations with the various agencies and companies who offer employment services and training opportunities for transitioning service members, hundreds of whom exit the Army at Fort Knox. Anything we can do to advance efforts for veterans to find employment and employers to hire veteran talent is definitely a win-win for our region and it connects back to our work to support Soldiers and their families.

Partnerships Are Key

None of this work would be possible without great partners. Not only are these workforce and education professionals experts in their fields, but they are also as passionate as we are about supporting Fort Knox and making our community stronger. I recommend tapping into the workforce development ecosystem. You will be better for it.

Brig. Gen. (Ret) Jim Iacocca
President / CEO
Knox Regional Development Alliance

Radcliff Defense Contractor to Create 75+ New Jobs

December 3, 2020 By krda

North South Consulting Group (NSCG) announced at least 75 new local jobs in conjunction with contracts the company recently won in support of missions at Fort Knox, adding nearly $4 million in annual payroll to the regional economy.

Radcliff Mayor JJ Duvall called the announcement welcome news in these challenging economic times and further proof of the important role Fort Knox has in the resiliency of our regional economy.

“We are proud of our home-grown defense contractor. North South Consulting Group is providing good-paying jobs and added spending power to a region that is fighting hard to weather this economic storm created by COVID-19,” said Duvall. “This is yet another example of the critical role Fort Knox has in our regional economy.”

The contracts NSCG was awarded are in support of the Army’s recruiting and marketing efforts and include establishing a call center at the company’s headquarters in Radcliff. NSCG President and CEO Dr. Krista Stevens said that particular contract was previously supported out of Ohio, New Jersey and Texas.

“Now when individuals call a toll-free number listed on Army recruiting and marketing materials, those calls are routed to a NSCG call center team member in Radcliff who provides the caller with information and determines whether or not they should be referred on in the recruitment process,” said Stevens.

In addition to the call center operations, NSCG will staff Army Recruiting Command’s Virtual Recruiting Center on Fort Knox, engaging potential recruits and refining leads before they are referred to a recruiter at the local level. The virtual recruiting team also monitors the Army’s social media presence throughout the country and when appropriate responds to comments on the Army’s social media channels.

Stevens, who established NSCG in 2012 and opened the company’s Radcliff headquarters in 2019 with her husband Chase, said she was thrilled to bring this work to the Greater Fort Knox Region. She touted the local workforce’s connection to Fort Knox missions that helped make NSCG especially competitive for the work.

“Our community is full of talented people, many with direct experience in Army recruiting, making our support to the Army even stronger,” said Stevens. “We couldn’t be more excited to help support the Army and grow the local economy.”

Stevens, herself an Army Veteran and former Army Civilian employee, said these contracts often require a large percentage of the workforce to be military Veterans and that NSCG prides itself on hiring Veterans and teaming with other Veteran-owned businesses.

For these contracts, Stevens is teamed with Poly A & M, a woman owned business under the leadership of Janelle Lei Sam who, in October, opened her company headquarters in Radcliff, as well as Horizon Strategies which is under the leadership of retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Allen Batschelet and retired U.S. Army Col. Bill Harmon.

As the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Recruiting Command, MG Batschelet expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity to support the recruiting force he once led. “I’m grateful that Krista and the team at NSCG asked Horizon Strategies to join the contract team for these important services in support of Army recruiting,” said Batschelet. “I have a great fondness for Army Recruiting and the Fort Knox community. We look forward to bringing our firm’s expertise to bear on this critical work.”

Both Stevens and Mayor Duvall also touted the support of the Knox Regional Development Alliance (KRDA) in this recent announcement and NSCG’s overall success.

“General Iacocca was instrumental in helping Krista and her team locate here. It’s great to see the company grow and succeed because when they succeed our community succeeds,” said Duvall. “KRDA is an invaluable resource to our community.”

Stevens echoed Duvall’s comments.

“General Iacocca helped us find a location and even recommended who to talk to about furnishings. He provided us with advice and consultancy on how we could best demonstrate value. He helped us develop relationships on and off post. I cannot say enough about the role KRDA has played in our success,” said Stevens.

When asked, KRDA CEO retired Brig. Gen. Jim Iacocca was quick to point to Stevens’ talented team and the supportive community.

“The credit goes to Krista, the NSCG team and this incredibly supportive community,” said Iacocca. “KRDA is committed to helping defense contractors grow their business, make our regional economy stronger and most importantly support Fort Knox missions.”

Compatible Use Planning Makes for Good Neighbors

November 5, 2020 By krda

As the President and CEO of the Knox Regional Development Alliance (KRDA), my work centers on our mission to promote and protect Fort Knox to increase its economic impact. While that means we regularly showcase what sets Fort Knox apart from other installations, our team also spends a great deal of time working with community leaders to make sure we do all we can to support the post to be the best neighbor. Why? First and foremost because it’s the right thing to do. Additionally, community support matters when the Department of Defense (DOD) considers retaining missions, growing existing missions or adding new missions.

The Threat of Encroachment

Over my last three years on the job, I’ve learned that being a good neighbor is a multifaceted effort. One of, if not the most important thing any defense community can do is proactively work to limit encroachment. DOD considers encroachment any external influences that negatively impact training. Fort Knox is known for its world-class training areas and ranges. Many people may not realize it, but Fort Knox’s ranges and training areas are among the most utilized in the Army, in part because of the lack of encroachment.

Yano Range, the only Digital Air/Ground Integration Range east of the Rockies when complete in 2023

Thanks to a $52 million investment, Fort Knox will also soon have a Digital Air/Ground Integration Range or DAGIR, one of only two in the Army and the only one east of the Rockies. With the DAGIR, aviation units and ground forces will be able to simultaneously train and operate in the same simulated battle space. When completed in 2023, the DAGIR will bring increased unit training to Fort Knox as well as increased noise and air traffic. All the more reason, that as a community we work closely with our installation partners to mitigate potential encroachment challenges.

Compatible Use Planning

Successful encroachment mitigation efforts require a collaborative approach and a close working relationship between the installation and the community. In years past, communities and installations would conduct Joint Land Use Studies (JLUS). Now it is called Compatible Use Planning (CUP). The name change is relevant because JLUS was largely focused on land use and land development which is obviously critically important, but there are other factors that impact encroachment including noise pollution, light pollution, frequency spectrum encroachment, airspace restrictions and even climate change impacts. All can negatively impact training. The CUP takes those and other encroachment factors into consideration providing for a more comprehensive study and resulting plan.

Sometimes communities bring in outside consultants to do this work, but our region is blessed with a great area development organization, the Lincoln Trail Area Development District (LTADD). The LTADD received grant funding from the DOD’s Office of Economic Adjustment to undertake our current CUP study. Launched in 2019, the LTADD is working with Fort Knox leaders, local and state officials and community stakeholders, like KRDA, to closely evaluate population changes, planning and zoning ordinances, as well as current and planned commercial and residential development.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the LTADD team held public meetings to collect input on public concerns and raise awareness about Fort Knox’s $2.6 billion annual economic impact, current training on post and additional training that will be added once the DAGIR is complete. Throughout the process, Fort Knox leaders have emphasized that it is truly a partnership and being a good neighbor goes both ways. The installation has stressed the importance of hearing what’s on the mind of the public and promoting collaboration among all parties.

Identifying Best Practices

Kentucky 313 Corridor zoned to limit residential lot sizes to 10 acres

When complete, the study will yield a proposed implementation plan that aims to ensure local and regional sustainability between Fort Knox and its neighboring civilian communities. In building the plan, the LTADD is looking at compatibility tools and best practices both locally and throughout the DOD. One of the best examples happens to be right in our backyard where one county government has zoned land adjacent to Fort Knox’s southern boundary. The zoning limits residential lot sizes to 10 acres, preventing any dense, large-scale residential development.

Another best practice is the use of the Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) Program. ACUB allows installations to work with partners to encumber off-post land to protect habitat, prevent development and buffer training without the Army having to acquire any new land. Fort Knox and the LTADD previously used ACUB to preserve 462 acres. Also, Fort A.P. Hill, just south of Fredericksburg, Virginia has leveraged ACUB to protect more than 14,000 acres through the use of conservation easements, successfully buffering the installation from the significant population growth and urbanization that has taken place between Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia.^[1]

While tools like ACUB are valuable, one of the most common best practices is a concerted and proactive communications and outreach effort specific to encroachment. This can include identifying primary points of contact in the community and on post who citizens can contact if they have questions or concerns. In fact, many Naval Air Stations actually have dedicated community planning liaison officers who regularly engage community partners on potential encroachment issues and solutions.

These best practices just begin to scratch the surface of what’s available to defense communities for compatible use planning. While it is a massive undertaking, the CUP study is really only the beginning. Putting the plan into action, carrying out the recommendations and undertaking a sustained effort to address issues and opportunities related to encroachment, ensures an installation and its surrounding defense communities can grow and prosper together. To me, that epitomizes what it means to be a good neighbor.

[1] Source

Leadership Message

October 21, 2020 By krda

Hello everyone. We hope your year is off to a great start. We enjoyed a busy January culminating with our annual meeting of investors. It was great to celebrate the successes of 2020 and discuss the positive outlook for 2021 with the people and organizations who make it possible for KRDA to do its work. The added benefit of having Maj. Gen. Evans join us made the virtual gathering all the more meaningful as Fort Knox’s senior commander is set to depart this summer.

Maj. Gen. Evans shared the welcome news of Cadet Summer Training’s (CST) return to Fort Knox this year. In a few short months, the post will be brimming with college students from across the country who are in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. As part of the Army’s largest training exercise, hundreds of cadre (instructors) will be assessing these future Army second lieutenants.

In addition to CST, we anticipate continued growth on post in 2021 at V Corps, 1st Army Division East and Army Human Resources Command. We’ll also continue our outreach efforts to defense contractors. With the addition of V Corps headquarters, we are seeing interest from different firms that support operational warfighting units.

We look forward to welcoming several new commanders this summer with changes of command at U.S. Army Cadet Command, U.S. Army Human Resources Command and the Fort Knox Garrison. We hope that public health conditions are favorable enough later this year to host a community welcome reception for these new commanders as well as the leadership team at V Corps Headquarters.

Regardless of what 2021 brings, we know our community will continue to provide the highest level of support to Fort Knox Soldiers and their families. We can’t thank you enough.

Warm Regards,

Ray and Jim

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