Fort Bliss may be headed for major growth next year as the U.S. Air Force considers consolidating and moving its regional training centers, and 8,500 troops, to the El Paso post.

Fort Bliss was selected as one of four possible locations for an Air Force "security forces regional training center," officials announced this week. The other candidates are Camp Guernsey in Wyoming, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Joint Base San Antonio (Camp Bullis) in Texas. A final decision is expected as early as spring.

"At a time when other military bases are shrinking, Fort Bliss continues to add new missions," said U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas. "This announcement confirms that the post is not only a premier Army installation, but also a vital national security asset."

Reyes, who is running for re-election, faces Beto O'Rourke, a former city council representative, and Jerome Tilghman, an educator, in the Democratic primary election.

The Air Force plans to consolidate six regional training centers in the continental United States at the chosen location, according to briefing information provided by Reyes' office and a news release on the Air Force Security Forces Center website. The new center will provide training for airmen who are deploying overseas or assigned to other missions.

Consolidation is part of an Air Force efficiency initiative that is expected to improve the quality of training and save money.

Fort Bliss -- thanks in large part to a recent

 $5 billion expansion that accommodated the 1st Armored Division -- satisfied the criteria used to determine finalists. Requirements called for a variety of firing ranges, including convoy live-fire where troops go through realistic scenarios and fire live ammunition; a 9,000-foot runway located at the installation; low construction costs; troop support that includes medical facilities, a child development center and a fitness center; and a lack of restrictions on land use and noise.

The post has all that, including a 2.5-mile runway at Biggs Army Airfield. In addition, the Army has spent hundreds of millions of dollars at Fort Bliss on improvements, including building villages that mimic those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Fort Bliss official declined to comment on the ongoing process, but in August, post commander Maj. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard talked about a $500 million investment in the post's training ranges. Those ranges have already been used by thousands of troops from all military branches, National Guard and reserves as they prepared for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Richard Dayoub, president of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, said the post's value is enhanced when combined with White Sands Missile Range and Holloman Air Force Base.

Dayoub said there has been serious discussion about using the capabilities of all three bases to create a regional training center similar to the Army's National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.

"And it certainly would benefit us economically because you don't train 24/7," Dayoub said. "They (trainees) will want to get out into the community."

Reyes said he will work with Air Force officials as they make their decision.