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Silvestre Reyes: Team El Paso pushes Fort Bliss onward
By Silvestre Reyes / Guest columnist

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Washington, May 15 - Last week marked the fifth anniversary of the news that has literally changed the landscape of El Paso.

On May 13, 2005 the Department of Defense released the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Commission) list which turned Fort Bliss from a post at grave risk for closure to the biggest winner in troop strength in the Army.

In early 1997, just a few weeks after I was sworn in as a member of Congress, I heard from sources inside the Pentagon that the post was in danger of closure. I spoke with then-Commanding General of Fort Bliss Jack Costello, who confirmed the rumors were true, and we agreed that swift action was needed.

I worked closely with Maj. Gen. Costello to devise a strategy to increase the value of Fort Bliss in the eyes of Army leaders. This plan included securing facilities to improve training and military value of the post, and saving the Graduate Medical Education at William Beaumont to prevent it from being downsized from a full-fledged medical center to a smaller community hospital.

Over the next few years, in partnership with outstanding Bliss commanders, we continued to strengthen the installation.

The size of the post, the maneuver space with complete control of the airspace from mud to sky, and access to the resources of adjacent White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base -- all of these things were hidden assets. It was critical that BRAC decision-makers fully understood what Fort Bliss had to offer.

The Sept. 11 attacks further demonstrated the need for Fort Bliss' training facilities. When I first traveled to Afghanistan, I was struck by the similarity of the terrain from Bagram Air Force Base to Kabul to the terrain from El Paso to Alamogordo. If our troops are going to be engaged in desert combat in the Middle East, they needed to train in areas that provide a comparable environment.

The Pentagon was reluctant to keep a base open in an area that was thought to have scarce water resources, and we worked hard to dispel the notion that El Paso was running out of water. When both Bliss and El Paso Water Utilities (EPWU) wanted to construct their own desalination facilities to produce drinking water, I pulled the two groups together to work jointly on one plant.

With city and federal funds, the project became reality in 2005. We brought Team El Paso, including the president and CEO of EPWU, Ed Archuleta, to the Pentagon time and again to explain our water situation until Maj. Gen. Larry Lust, who was in charge of Army installations, finally told us "We get it. El Paso has no water issue."

When we needed to bring the right message to the right officials in the Pentagon, Team El Paso always answered the call. Among those were Bob Cook, Richard Dayoub, Gus Rodriguez, Jim Maloney, the El Paso mayors, civic leaders from Alamogordo and Las Cruces, school superintendents, and our civilian aides to the secretary of the Army, who spent many days and long hours walking the halls of the Pentagon to deliver our message.

And from the beginning, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison was a great partner.

In the end, Fort Bliss received a combat division, with four brigade combat teams, commanded by a three-star general, and a combat aviation brigade. In addition to these BRAC gains, Fort Bliss was later designated the home of the Future Force Integration Directorate, an Army evaluation task force, and a Stryker Brigade Combat Team. This growth expands the economic impact of the post -- including property and sales tax and permanent civilian jobs -- from an annual positive impact of $1.5 billion to conservatively over $5 billion.

The transformation of Fort Bliss -- from the time when the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was transferred from the base -- to what it is today has been amazing. And this expansion would not have been possible without the hard work of so many people -- those mentioned here and others as well.

Their efforts helped secure the future of Fort Bliss and El Paso, and, since the BRAC decision five years ago, Mayor John Cook and others have helped our community meet the needs of the growing post.

Congratulations Team El Paso -- job well done!

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes represents the 16th Congressional District.