Carothers to Build Facility in US Army Armor School Move
Carothers Construction in Oxford, MS received [PDF] a $32.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a vehicle maintenance instruction facility (VMIF) at Fort Benning, GA. US Army Armor School students will receive instruction at the facility on maintaining the M1 Abrams family of tanks, as well as other military vehicles. They expect to complete construction by Oct 25/10. 7 bids were solicited with 5 bids received by the US Army Engineer District in Savannah, GA (W91278-07-D-0036).
Carothers will build a 185,500-square-foot VMIF, vehicle parking, 120-square-foot security building and support infrastructure. The project scope also includes utilities, access roads and drivers, parking lot, paving, walks, curbs, gutters, lighting, security for the parking lot, site improvement, exterior communications, fire protection, storm sewer system, site preparation, erosion control grassing, landscaping and signage.
The US Army Armor School is being relocated from Fort Knox in Kentucky to Fort Benning by September 2011 as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations…
According to Globalsecurity.org, BRAC recommended the relocation of the US Army Armor Center and School from Fort Knox to Fort Benning to accommodate the activation of an Infantry Brigade Combat Team at Fort Knox, as well as the relocation of the following to Fort Knox: engineer, military police, and combat service support units from Europe and Korea; the 84th Army Reserve Regional Training Center from Fort McCoy in Wisconsin; and the US Army Accessions Command and US Army Cadet Command from Fort Monroe in Virginia.
The Armor Center and School will be consolidated with the Infantry Center and School, which is currently located at Fort Benning. This would create a Maneuver Center of Excellence for ground forces training and doctrine development. It would consolidate both Infantry and Armor One Station Unit Training (OSUT), which would allow the Army to reduce the total number of Basic Combat Training locations from 5 to 4, noted Globalsecurity.org.
The total estimated one-time cost to implement this recommendation would be $773.1 million. The net of all costs and savings to Department of Defense (DoD) during the implementation period would be a cost of $244.1 million. Annual recurring savings to DoD after implementation would be $123.3 million with a payback expected in 5 years. The net present value of the costs and savings to the Department over 20 years would be a savings of $948.1 million, according to Globalsecurity.org.
