COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A 3,500-soldier brigade proposed for Fort Carson could be cut under a Pentagon budget proposal unveiled this week.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday he would block the creation of three Army brigades, one of which was planned for creation at Fort Carson by 2013.
The 5th Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division was pledged to the base near Colorado Springs in 2007 under a plan to expand the Army for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Army expressed confidence in the proposal as recently as last month. But Army spokesman Dave Foster said Tuesday it was “too soon to tell” if the brigade would come to Fort Carson.
The 5th Brigade may be easier to cut than others because the Army hasn’t spent any money building barracks or offices for it, said Christopher Hellman, a military policy fellow with Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C., who specializes in analyzing Pentagon budget plans.
Fort Carson planned to build a home for the brigade near Butts Army Airfield but has not yet solicited contracts for the facilities, which could cost more than $150 million.
“I don’t know why you would cut the ones you have equipped and already put together,” Hellman said.
Meanwhile, Colorado Springs business leaders pledged a fight in Congress to keep the 5th Brigade.
“It isn’t over until it’s over,” said Brian Binn, president of military affairs for the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Mike Kazmierski, CEO of the Greater Colorado Springs Economic Development Corporation, noted that Gates still plans to expand the Army to 547,000 soldiers, and said Fort Carson will be in line for more soldiers even if it doesn’t get the 5th Brigade.
This summer, the 4th Infantry Division headquarters and the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division will relocate to Fort Carson, increasing the post’s troop population from 18,100 to 24,600.
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Information from: The Gazette,
