News

KRDA offers 5 factors driving local optimism

May 11, 2020 By krda

It’s hard to believe that a little less than three months ago, we were celebrating the news Fort Knox was selected as the location for the Army’s new corps headquarters. The coronavirus has had a tremendous impact on our region, our nation and the world, including our military and Fort Knox.

As CEO of the Knox Regional Development Alliance, I am in regular contact with Fort Knox leaders and Department of Defense officials and I want to update the community on the latest developments.

• Fifth Corps is coming.

The DOD has extended its Stop Move order through June 30, which means these new families won’t begin arriving until later this summer. It may take longer before the unit is fully staffed, but that does not change the October activation. Fort Knox will become one of only four installations in the Army with a Corps Headquarters, putting our post in an elite class.

• Access to Fort Knox is unrestricted, but wear a mask.

There are currently no limitations regarding access to post, but you are required to wear a mask at most establishments. Free face masks/coverings are not available at Fort Knox, so plan accordingly. There always is the possibility of increasing health protection conditions that would limit access to authorized personnel only — which includes workforce, Fort Knox residents, persons with permitted services such as retirees.

With the current progress in Kentucky and the community around Fort Knox, I feel confident access will remain unrestricted.

• The status of Cadet Summer Training 2020 is unknown.

Each summer Fort Knox hosts the Army’s largest training exercise – Cadet Summer Training – for thousands of Army ROTC cadets from colleges and universities all over the country. Hundreds of additional officers and non-commissioned officers make up the cadre of instructors.

Unfortunately, with the DOD Stop Move order extended until June 30, we know that if cadet summer training happens, it will be greatly abbreviated. Cadet Command is continuing to work with Army leadership on various courses of action, but whatever the outcome, it is almost assured the region will not experience the typical increased visits to local restaurants or the added hotel stays CST often brings.

I know that is incredibly unwelcome news given the economic toll coronavirus restrictions have taken, but we think it is important to be up front and realistic about the outlook. The leadership at Fort Knox is sensitive to and concerned about the potential impact.

• Fort Knox is critical to our nation’s defense and our regional economy.

For more than a century, Fort Knox has played a critical role in our nation’s defense and that continues today. With missions like Army Human Resources Command, Army Cadet Command and Army Recruiting Command, what happens at Fort Knox impacts every soldier and their family. The 1st Theater Sustainment Command, 1st Army Division East, and 19th Engineer Battalion along with Army Reserve and National Guard units further Fort Knox’s strategic importance. The addition of Fifth Corps makes a great installation even better.

Fifth Corps also makes our economy stronger with an estimated $50 million in new payroll, along with additional defense contractor spending adding to the post’s annual $2.6 billion economic impact.

While I know that doesn’t improve the current circumstances faced by businesses, I hope it can provide some reassurance that as the economy reopens, Fort Knox’s growth will bring added spending power in these tough economic times.

• This community is the very best.

There is no doubt we are facing unprecedented times, but like always, there are countless examples of your caring, collaborative and supportive spirit. It is what sets our region apart from other defense communities.

Your continued support to Fort Knox, its soldiers and their families remains unwavering. I can’t thank you enough and express how proud Beth Avey, KRDA’s first vice president, and I are to represent you in our work to strengthen Fort Knox and grow defense-related business in our region. If we can be of assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Employers meet with ECTC’s Coding Academy students

April 23, 2020 By krda

Source: The News-Enterprise

The virtual round table discussion connected employers with students participating in the 18-week intensive course to become certified information technology professionals.

Launched in February, the program is designed to provide a pipeline of potential employees who possess the skills and industry certifications needed by Fort Knox contractors, specifically in Java and Security Plus.

The students had been meeting in a dedicated computer lab at ECTC, but moved to online instruction in March because of coronavirus restrictions.

The college worked with its partners at the Knox Regional Development Alliance to arrange the online meeting.

“When the coronavirus forced us to move the academy to online instruction, these students remained committed and forged ahead,” ECTC’s President Juston Pate said in a news release. “We were following our students’ example and didn’t let the current environment stop us from making this important first connection between them and prospective employers. The dialogue was fantastic.”

Chase Cole, a student in the coding academy and a senior at North Hardin High School, asked the employers about their companies’ values and shared his thoughts on the type of job he is seeking when he graduates, according to the release.

“Hearing first-hand from these employers was really helpful,” Cole said. “They provided great advice on what an average day might be like, how to keep and hone my skills and how to be successful in this line of work.”

Local defense contractor North South Consulting’s CEO Krista Stevens was one of five employers who participated. Stevens has advised ECTC and the development alliance on the challenges she and other defense contractors face in filling vacancies with local talent.

“The opportunity ECTC has created for them while providing companies like ours with access to skilled workers is fantastic,” Stevens said. “We have a real demand for this type of IT talent and given the Army’s growing use of technology, that need can only continue to increase.”

KRDA CEO Jim Iacocca offered his praise for the students, the employers and the college.

“Decision makers in the Department of Defense definitely have to consider available workforce when they are determining where to locate missions,” said Iacocca, a retired brigadier general.

“The Greater Knox Coding Academy demonstrates that our community will step up and respond to workforce needs.”

ECTC plans to offer the academy again starting in August. Registration is open for that session at elizabethtown.kctcs.edu/coding academy.

Admission to the program is selective and highly competitive, according to ECTC.

KRDA leader touts V Corps impact

March 12, 2020 By krda

Source: The News-Enterprise

Establishment of the Fifth Corps headquarters at Fort Knox will increase the region’s population by approximately 2,000 people as soldiers arrive with their families, according to Jim Iacocca of Knox Regional Development Alliance.

He said Human Resources Command already has started issuing orders for the 635 soldiers being reassigned to establish the new corps headquarters.

Iacocca spoke Tuesday at the Radcliff Small Business Alliance luncheon about the U.S. Army’s announcement last month that Fort Knox had been selected as home for the Pentagon’s new corps headquarters.

The corps at Fort Knox is responsible for supporting U.S. forces and operations in Europe and to help meet National Defense Strategy and the Army’s modernization and readiness needs. It will be headed by a three-star general and includes staff and field-grade officers and enlisted personnel.

The headquarters, which is scheduled for activation in October, will maintain a rotational Operational Command Post in Europe. Known as the Fifth Corps or V Corps, it’s a reactivation of an Army unit’s name familiar in Europe dating back to World War I.

Iacocca said at any given time 200 of the 635 soldiers will be in Europe but all will be permanently stationed here.

KRDA estimates 70 percent of families are going to live off post in Hardin and surrounding counties, he said.

“That is roughly 455 people of the 635 that are coming to live off post in the community,” he said, noting the organization also estimates 300 school-age children will attend off-post schools.

Iacocca said they suspect soldiers and their families will begin arriving during the summer. He said Army leadership would like to be as close to 100 percent as possible by Oct. 1.

Iacocca said V Corps coming to Fort Knox is amazing, but reminded RSBA members Fort Knox already played a critical role in the Army with its recruitment and human resources commands and to the local economy before the February announcement.

“It already was a great place with dynamic commands that impact the strength of the Army every day,” he said.

In addition to Fort Knox becoming the new corps headquarters, Iacocca said he recently discovered the Army’s Best Warrior Competition will take place at Fort Knox in the fall.

“That’s a big deal,” he said, saying it will bring 34 of the best soldiers in the Army to post and garner more positive exposure.

Iacocca also touted Elizabethtown Community and Technical College’s coding academy. He said it’s going very well in training students for jobs available at HRC and other Fort Knox missions.

The Greater Knox Coding Academy began classes Feb. 3 with 30 students eager to tackle the 17-week program that trains them to be certified information technology professionals with skills in demand by defense contractors at Fort Knox. Many of the positions have starting salaries as high as $65,000.

V Corps creates new excitement

February 16, 2020 By krda

Source: The News-Enterprise

It’s been a decade since the tanks left Fort Knox.

The Base Realignment and Closure initiative of 2005 folded the U.S. Army Armor School and its related missions into a new Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 2010.

After a 71-year relationship with tankers, the final Fort Knox Armor graduates were recognized in June 2011 – days after the final units had cased their colors for the move south.

BRAC arrived locally with a lot of buzz and great promise. The “big inhale” as it was called at the time, brought Human Resources Command, Cadet Command and Recruiting Command as permanent missions under the three-star Accessions Command. This new mission for Fort Knox came with construction of the largest office complex in all of Kentucky, new residents arriving from metropolitan centers around St. Louis, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C., plus a surge in payroll that thrilled retailers, restaurants and Realtors across our region.

Added to the new emphasis on human resources, BRAC also brought the Duke Brigade to Fort Knox. Formally known as the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, this was a combat unit that would train and work on post when not deployed.

All of Kentucky was excited about the growth. The General Assembly responded with $150 million to beef up infrastructure despite a tight budget projection.

But before the state opened the Elizabethtown-to-Radcliff Connector – the road now known as Patriot Parkway which was a central element of its BRAC commitment – things began to change.

Accessions Command was shuttered in reaction to an Obama-era budget cut announced in 2011. The Duke Brigade was inactivated as part of troop reductions in 2014. And the excitement around the BRAC promise withered.

The sense of excitement and promise returned last week when the Army announced Fort Knox has been selected as home for its new corps headquarters.

The Fifth Corps or V Corps will bring 635 additional soldiers and a new three-star command to the post. While firm numbers are not yet known, preliminary estimates say the decision will mean another $58.4 million in compensation on post, another $8.5 million tied to contracts and increase in consumer spending of $97.6 million across the region.

That’s huge by any measure.

The leadership at Fort Knox, Kentucky’s Congressional delegation and Knox Regional Development Alliance all did their parts to provide the information necessary to convince the Army that Fort Knox had just what V Corps needs — including a supportive pro-military community beyond the gates.

Sometime in October, the Maude Center will be fully utilized again. Between now and then, look for traffic to increase, moving trucks to arrive and cash registers to ring more often.

Welcome to V Corps and thanks to all who appropriately recognized that Fort Knox and its friendly neighbors had so much more to offer.

This editorial reflects a consensus of The News-Enterprise editorial board.

McConnell celebrates Army announcement in Radcliff

February 15, 2020 By krda

Source: The News-Enterprise

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who joined with other Kentucky leaders to encourage the Army to place its new corps headquarters at Fort Knox, came to Radcliff to share in the community celebration Friday.

McConnell specifically praised the work of Knox Regional Development Alliance, a private organization started in 2015 to promote the post with an emphasis on increasing military investment here and attracting new missions.

Beth Avey, vice president of KRDA, said praise belongs to the thousands of quality employees on post and a supportive community.

“Really it is the community and their work to support soldiers and families that is a testament to us being able to tell the story of Fort Knox and that great installation and this great community,” Avey said at a news conference held at Colvin Community Center following a luncheon for McConnell with community and business leaders from four counties including the KRDA board.

The Fifth Corps, also known as V Corps, will bring a ninth general officer mission to the post. Commanded by a three-star general, it will have 635 soldiers here plus a rotating group of 200 in Europe.

Radcliff Mayor J.J. Duvall said the Army’s announcement “solidified what we know and the rest of the world knows now, we are a world-class installation.”

McConnell left Radcliff with a thousand accolades plus a couple gifts. Noting that Friday was Valentine’s Day, Duvall gave McConnell an I Love Radcliff T-shirt featuring a large heart. After the news conference, community advocate Barbara Proffitt gave him one of her signature pecan pies.

McConnell said expects the corps’ arrival this fall to be met with similar enthusiasm.

“When the Fifth Corps officially activates here later this year, I’m very confident they are going to get a big warm welcome from this great community.”

Maude Complex to house V Corps

February 13, 2020 By krda

Source: The News-Enterprise

Command of post won’t be altered by new mission

The arrival of V Corps at Fort Knox this fall brings a senior-level command to the post and the return of a three-star general, but is not expected to change the post’s command structure, according to the Public Affairs Office.

“Although the V Corps commander will be the senior-ranking general officer here, the Department of the Army determined the commander of U.S. Army Cadet Command will remain dual-hatted in retaining senior commander responsibilities for the installation,” the public affairs statement said.

The headquarters is expected to bring another 635 soldiers to Fort Knox and attract additional military contractors. Its mission is to direct and support U.S. forces and operations in Europe, where it also will maintain a rotational Operational Command Post with another 200 soldiers.

Also known as the Fifth Corps, the Army’s newest corps headquarters will primarily be housed in the Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude Complex, an 883,180-square-foot facility billed as the largest office building in Kentucky and second only to the Pentagon among U.S. military structures.

It was built as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure initiative that changed Fort Knox from its traditional mission as Home of Armor to a center focused on recruitment and human resources.

The Maude Complex was built off Spearhead Division Avenue near Wilson Road as part of BRAC to house Accessions Command and its related missions including Human Resources Command, which remains the primary occupant of the structure. Accessions relocated from Fort Monroe, Virginia, with its three-star general in command, but was deactivated by the Army in January 2012 in a cost-cutting move.

That decision benefited efforts to bring the V Corps to Fort Knox. The Army wants the unit in place by October and cited available facilities at Fort Knox as a primary reason for its selection.

Col. C.J. King, garrison commander at Fort Knox, said in a news conference Wednesday the Maude Center made activation of V Corps here an easy choice.

“Cost was probably a factor here,” King said. “There is minimal investment really required in this facility. This was designed for a three-star headquarters. It’s been vacant for a long time. Really and truly this unit can almost move in.”

Jim Iacocca, the retired general who heads the Knox Regional Development Alliance which campaigned to land this mission, repeatedly stressed Fort Knox offered “the capability and capacity” to meet V Corps’ needs.

Other factors the Department of the Army evaluated in determining V Corps’ location included network infrastructure, transportation proximity and the availabilities of schools, services and other resources for personnel and their families. The detailed analysis included a variety of factors including a desired time zone in which basic work schedules would coincide with the corps’ European staff, according to Kentucky Congressional delegation.

Radcliff Mayor J.J. Duvall said Fort Knox’s status in the military community is elevated by Tuesday’s announcement.

“This puts Knox in an elite group of posts with this type of command and a three-star (general) at the post,” Duvall said Wednesday.

The Army’s three existing corps headquarters are known as I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas; and XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Finding a location for its a fourth corps headquarters has been a priority studied for months by the Army as part of its national defense strategy.

The V Corps name, which first was announced Tuesday, has a legacy within the military.

V Corps originally was activated in 1918 during World War I as part of the American Expeditionary Forces in France and played roles in every major campaign in the European theater as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq before inactivating in 2013. The command also has historical ties to Fort Knox, as units assigned to the V Corps area trained here throughout the 1920s and ’30s, according to the Fort Knox Public Affairs Office.

News

Connect With KRDA

Get The Newsletter