Army revamps installation management

For years, garrison commanders have waged a series of losing battles against the Army's major commands to cover the costs of maintaining and operating facilities and services at their installations. Under a new installation management plan set to begin in October, they will have a fighting chance.

Under the new plan, Army garrison commanders--the colonels responsible for the day-to-day operations and upkeep of installations--will report to seven regional installation management offices, which will channel maintenance funding directly from Army headquarters. That should ensure a more stable flow of funds for the upkeep of military housing and other facilities, as well as such services as child care and recreation.

Currently, the Army's major commands, or MACOMs, control the purse strings of installations under their jurisdiction. For instance, Army training installations in the United States, such as Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, home of the Army Command and General Staff College, fall under the auspices of the Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va. But U.S. installations where operational forces are based, such as Fort Drum, N.Y., home of the 10th Mountain Division, fall under the auspices of Forces Command at Fort McPherson, Ga.

For years, the Army's major commands have diverted funds intended for installation operations and maintenance into depleted training and weapons maintenance accounts.

The new organizational structure will prevent such diversions of maintenance funds and will streamline the way the Army manages base operations, said Army spokeswoman Karen Baker. The seven regional offices were selected in part to minimize the turbulence for employees, and no reduction-in--force is planned.

"We expect very few manpower changes at the installation level, and the regional staff will come from the major commands," she said. In some cases, the new regional offices will be located at the same installations as existing major command headquarters.

The new regional installation management offices will be located at the following installations:

Northeast: Fort Monroe, Va.
Southeast: Fort McPherson, Ga.
Northwest: Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.
Southwest: Fort Sam Houston, Texas
Europe: Heidelberg, Germany
Pacific: Fort Shafter, Hawaii
Korea: Yongsan, South Korea