Thursday, March 13, 2008

2007 Fort Belvoir year in review

Photos by Marny Malin-Cpt. Edward Scupbach, U.S.Army Baylor resident assigned to DeWitt Health Care Network, holds the battle book used for planning and execution of the groundbreaking ceremony held Nov. 8, 2007 which officially kicked off the construction for the new Fort Belvoir community hospital being builtas part of BRAC Law 2005.

Engineer and industrial pioneer Charles F. Kettering once stated, “The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.“

Although he wasn’t speaking specifically about Fort Belvoir, the whirlwind of changes on the installation in 2007 epitomized his quote.

Fires and high winds kept residents and safety officials busy, Soldiers deployed and returned, commands changed hands, new construction projects flourished, office relocations and Base Realignment and Closure plans moved forward and agreements were signed signaling the start of new things.

In February, the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Belvoir ceased to exist as it cased its colors and became the Installation Management Command Fort Belvoir, and in March, Belvoir residents got their first look at the draft environmental impact statement for BRAC. During the spring and summer, George Washington Village was completed as part of the ongoing Residential Communities Initiative, and Headquarters Battalion welcomed Lt. Col. Kevin McKenna as its new commander.

The fall was ushered in with a test of the installation force protection system and an injection of more than $100,000 for MWR programs. Shovels broke ground in September at the Engineer Proving Ground for construction of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and in November, at the South Nine Golf Course, which closed to make way for construction of the new DeWitt health care facility.

Closing out the year, Army leaders signed the Army Family Covenant, pledging their support to Army families world wide. The Virginia Department of Transportation and the Army also inked an agreement to begin construction of the final section of the Fairfax County Parkway extension linking
Rolling and Fullerton roads.

A busy year for the installation came to an end with the annual lighting of the holiday tree and preparations for a new year, proving the wisdom of words of Greek philosopher.