Maneuver Center of Excellence Update: New Construction at Harmony Church for the Armor School

This article begins a series of articles, which will be published consecutively over the next several editions of ARMOR that will provide an overview and discussion of ongoing construction efforts in support of the Armor School’s relocation to Fort Benning. This article focuses on the area being developed to support the 16th Cavalry Regiment and unaccompanied permanent party soldiers assigned to the U. S. Army Armor School. Maneuver Center of Excellence Update New Construction at Harmony Church for the Armor School by Dan Nelson Artist’s concept of the 16th Cavalry general instruction building. 48 — Figure 1. Harmony Church Development Plan Barracks HQ/Admin/ Services QoL Instructional/ Simulation Maintenance Hardstand

Readiness Modules, Company Ops, Arms Vault & BN HQ FY09

Storm Water Pond FY09 BN HQs and GIB

FY11 Gymnasium Permanent Party DFAC FY08 Parking Expansion In 2005, as directed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act, the Armor School was directed to move to Fort Benning, Georgia. Shortly after the law passed, BRAC planners conducted an analysis of the available facilities at Fort Benning that could be used to support the Armor School. While Fort Benning has many state-of-the-art facilities and top-notch training areas, the study concluded that it lacks the excess capacity necessary to house and train the Armor School. Further analysis determined what would be required to correct the deficiency, which resulted in developing a significant number of construction projects for the Armor School. The Harmony Church area was chosen as the site for the majority of these projects due to its central location, existing road network, and availability of undeveloped ground. The U. S. Army Armor Center (USAARMC) commander directed planners to build facilities that equal or exceed the facilities currently in use at Fort Knox. The future home of Armor and Cavalry is to be built from the ground up. On 12 February 2008, the USAARMC and U. S. Army Infantry Center (USAIC) commanders, held a ground-breaking cer-Table 1. Harmony Church Area 1 Construction Projects. The aerial view photo above shows the status of construction as of February 2009. As shown in the photo, the new dining facility is located in the upper left-hand corner; the three large buildings in the center are unaccompanied personnel housing; and in the upper right-hand corner are some of the 16th Cavalry facilities, including a battalion headquarters and two readiness modules. The woods to the left of the readiness modules will soon be cleared to allow for the construction of an additional readiness module and a covered hardstand. At the top left-center the old dog kennel will be demolished and trees will be cleared to make room for a general instruction building, three battalion headquarters buildings, and one brigade headquarters building. — 49 Figure 2 PN Project Name Building Description FY # OF

Per BLDG (sq. ft.)

TTL BLDG.

AREA (sq. ft.) UNIT Supported 118 PN Barracks 07 1 15,293 15,293 112 PN Barracks 07 2 45,879 91,758 Storage Building 07 1 250 250 Lawn Maintenance CO Ops Facility (COF) 07 1 14,824 14,824

Dining Facility (DFAC) 07 1 26,450 26,450 Permanent Party DFAC CO Ops Facility (COF) 07 3 7,412 22,236 316th CAV Arms Vault 07 1 3,300 3,300 MCOE Weapons Storage Readiness Module (RM) 07 1 5,400 5,400 316th CAV Readiness Module (RM) 07 1 7,424 7,424 316th CAV 65862 Tng Bde Cmplx PH 2 124 PN Barracks 08 2 48,000 96,000 Permanent Party UEPH Covered Hardstand (CH) 09 1 10,125 10,125 316th CAV Readiness Module (RM) 09 1 7,000 7,000 316th CAV Battalion HQ (M) 09 1 11,983 11,983 1/316th CAV Battalion HQ (L) 09 1 13,730 13,730 316th CAV HQ Battalion HQ (S) 09 1 10,309 10,309 3/316th CAV General Instruction Building 09 1 68,470 68,470

Battalion HQ (M) 09 1 11,983 11,983 2/316th CAV Covered Hardstand (CH) 09 1 7,000 7,000 2/316th CAV Physical Fitness Facility 12 1 64,800 64,800 Athletic Fields 12 1 2,327 2,327

65286 Armor Officer Basic Course 64459 Training Brigade Complex Phase 1 16th Cavalry General Instruction Complex 65248 Physical Fitness Facility Permanent Party UEPH All 65253

At left, a barracks at Harmony Church nears completion. The inset shows the floor plan for a typical two-soldier living space. At right, the smallest of three readiness modules, which will be used to support the 16th Cavalry Regiment. Below, the interior of the largest module. At left, the new 16th Cavalry permanent party dining facility at Harmony Church. Above, a view of the serving line, nearing completion. 50 —

A battalion headquarters nears completion adjacent to the foundation for the future company operations facility. — 51 Figure 3. At left, first-floor layout of a company operations facility. Figure 4. At right, second-floor layout of a company operations facility.

emony for the first of many projects, including barracks; physical training pits; fields and tracks; dining facility; headquarters/administrative building; instructional/simulation facility; maintenance facility; morale, welfare, and recreational facilities; and medical and emergency service facilities. There are several projects scheduled at the Harmony Church area, which started in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 and will run through

2012. The largest, both in terms of cost and area, is training brigade complex phase 1, which was funded in FY07 and is expected to be complete by the summer of FY10. The FY08 project, training brigade complex phase 2, has broken ground, but building construction is currently not underway. The two FY09 projects, the 16th Cavalry general instruction complex and Armor Officer Basic Course headquarters building, are currently in the design and permitting phases. Table 1 provides details on projects currently under construction at the Harmony Church area. There are two building projects for unaccompanied soldier housing at Harmony Church; one project will build 342 billet spaces in three buildings, and the other will build 248 spaces in two buildings. All of the buildings are built around a standard two-soldier living unit (see photos on previous page). These barracks will provide our soldiers first-class accommodations within walking distance to duty locations, anew dining facility, and a state-of-the-art physical fitness facility. Later quality-of-life projects at Harmony Church will include Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), a coffee bar, a recreation center, and a chapel. Permanent Party Dining Facility The new dining facility, which is located adjacent to the barracks, is designed to feed 800 soldiers per meal in three seatings. It will include a short-order area, a private dining room that can be used to host visiting dignitaries, as well as a traditional dining room. Operational accommodations include full menu, short order, fast food, and remote feeding stations with self-service areas for beverages, salads, and desserts. The dining facility will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The site is designed to provide a centrally located, easily accessible dining hall for the future phases of the armor training brigade complex. Company Operations Facilities (COF) The company operations facilities project will complete four facilities, each designed to contain four individual company headquarters. Three of the buildings will be used by the 16th Cavalry and the fourth will be used by 3d Battalion, 81st Armor. The first floor of each building will have four large platoon offices, one per company, and male and female locker rooms (see Figure 3). The second floor will house the four company headquarters; each will have individual offices for the commander, executive officer, and first sergeant, as well as a training office, a shared administrative office, and a conference room. Each building is 7,412 square feet in size and will be collocated with readiness modules and directly across from the arms vault (see Figure 4). Each company operations facility is made of a series of modules, constructed off-site, and lifted into place by cranes to complete the framework. Once all the modules are in place, siding is installed. This construction system enables the contractor to provide a quality building at a reduced cost to the government. Readiness Module (RM) There are three readiness modules and two covered hardstands currently being constructed to support the 16th Cavalry Regiment, which will provide flexible training and storage space. Each readiness module contains a large open bay and caged areas for supply, nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC), and communications equipment storage. The readiness modules vary in size, to include 5,400 square feet, 7,000 square feet, and 7,424 square feet, and all have 8-feet overhead doors. Brigade and Battalion Headquarters The largest of the five battalion/brigade headquarters is currently being built adjacent to the company operations facility site. The four remaining headquarters will be built during the FY09 program year. The 16th Cavalry Regimental headquarters building has not yet been designated from among the five buildings being built for the regiment and the Armor School’s U. S. Marine Corps detachment headquarters (MARDET). Arms Vault The arms vault under construction at Harmony Church is similar to the one currently used by the regiment adjacent to Mansfield Motor Pool at Fort Knox. This facility will be 3,300 square feet in size and divided into two areas. General Instruction Building (GIB) The centerpiece of construction is the general instruction building, which will house the Basic Officer Leadership Course III (BOLC III), the Scout Leader Course (SLC), and the Cavalry Leader Course (CLC). This 68,470 square feet facility is part of the FY09 construction program currently under design by the winning contract firm. In addition to space for both large- and small-group instruction, the facility will house a 200-person auditorium, instructor offices, and a large network operations center to support information technology (IT) requirements for the Armor School. While there is remaining work to be done to complete construction, the work completed to date for the movement of the Armor School is impressive. The facilities at Harmony Church fully meet the USAARMC commanding general’s original guidance to build quality facilities equal to or better than those currently used by Armor and Cavalry soldiers at Fort Knox. Future articles will look at the new 19D/K one-station unit training (OSUT) cantonment area, the vehicle maintenance instruction buildings, simulations facilities, and new ranges and training areas, which will support heavy maneuver training. Mr. Daniel C. Nelson is an associate with Booz Allen Hamilton serving as a strategic planner for the U. S. Army Armor Center and School BRAC relocation and transformation task. He is responsible for project planning, design review, and construction oversight of facilities being built at Fort Benning in support of the Armor School move. In 2006, he retired from U. S. Army Corps of Engineer as a lieutenant colonel. 52 — Company operations modular units at Harmony Church.