Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

A soldier training at Fort Bliss, Texas

AUSTIN - El Paso leaders believe that if 21,000 extra soldiers, 25,000 extra family members, and 9,000 school-age children were moving into Fort Hood it would be statewide news.

As it is, that is exactly what is happening at Fort Bliss over the next five years and it was the job of about 40 El Pasoans to deliver that message to legislative leaders on Wednesday, El Paso Day at the state Capitol.

“To be honest, I am surprised just how challenging it has been to get the message out about BRAC and the significance the expansion at Fort Bliss will have on our community,” said El Paso County Commissioner Veronica Escobar.

“The good thing is it’s not too late. It’s incumbent on us to get the message out about the need for the infrastructure to support this wonderful expansion.”

Escobar said it was “inspiring” to sit in on meetings where city and county leaders joined with the private sector to explain what the Fort Bliss expansion will mean to state leaders and agency chiefs.

“For all of us to be on the same page, delivering the same message is very powerful. It’s not just powerful for the recipients of the message but for all of us. I think it engenders a great sense of unity and a great sense of sisterhood and brotherhood,” Escobar said.

The decision to expand Fort Bliss by a third was made by the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure 2005 commission. To accommodate the influx of around 21,000 soldiers and their families, the Department of Defense is spending $2.6 billion inside the base.

Mayor John Cook said such an expansion means El Paso’s population will grow by ten percent inside the next five years. “There’s never been an expansion of a military installation to this level, ever in the history of the United States,” Cook said, proudly.

Cook said his job, along with other local leaders, was to make sure the region’s infrastructure was developed in time to cope.

“We have got a lot of challenges providing the classrooms, the infrastructure like houses, roads and streets, improving the highway system, having the medical facilities to compliment the growth,” Cook said.

“We have identified everything we have to do and we have convinced the Department of Defense we will be ready. Now we have got to follow through.”

Cook led the El Paso delegation in meetings Wednesday with House Speaker Tom Craddick and key staff in Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s office. On Thursday, Cook meets with staff in Gov. Rick Perry’s office.

Cook said the reception the delegation received was positive. “It’s a fact that the eyes of Texas are on El Paso right now because of all the phenomenal growth,” Cook said. “People are finally looking at us and saying, wow, the fifth largest city in Texas, the 22nd largest city in the United States. People are starting to pay attention.”

Cook said Craddick seemed to be surprised by the sheer size of the expansion at Fort Bliss. “I don’t think he could believe how phenomenal it is,” Cook said. “We told him we have two priorities this session – funding our medical and accommodating the troops at Fort Bliss.”

State Rep. Joe Pickett, D-El Paso, said he does not think most Texans, even those living in El Paso, comprehend just how large Fort Bliss is.

“It’s huge. It covers an area that’s larger than the state of Rhode Island,” Pickett said, who sat in on the meeting with Craddick.

Pickett said the infrastructure requirements to handle the growth were enormous. He said $1 billion in property had been let, with another $2.4 to $3 billion more on the way.

“It’s a huge boon to the economy but how many communities can withstand a growth of 29,000 people over a three year period?” Pickett asked. “That is what we are faced with. It means nine new schools and 300 new teachers to handle all the kids that are going to come with the troops.”

State Rep. Norma Chavez, D-El Paso, said Texans need to know that Fort Bliss is now the number one military installation in the country in value. She said that with the development of the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the El Paso region was becoming a missile system hub.

“The Speaker had no idea (about Fort Bliss’s growth) and if the speaker did not know, we can assume most of the members did not know,” Chavez said.

“If this was Fort Hood and 20,000 troops were coming in less than five years everybody would recognize the need for the infrastructure. We are not asking for a hand out. This is a great boon for Texas. It just happens to be taking place in the largest border city.”

State Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, said the state would have to play its part in preparing for the growth at Fort Bliss by helping fund new highways, schools, teachers, and health care.

“Right now, El Paso is the very best place to be, with the medical school and Fort Bliss, great things are happening,” Shapleigh said.

“Think about it. In northeast El Paso, in a few short years, a whole city will move. 67,000 troops and dependents will be in northeast El Paso. We have a job to do, infrastructure to provide and troops to take care of.”

Shapleigh agreed that if Fort Bliss’s expansion were taking place at Fort Hood it would be statewide news.

“So many lawmakers do not understand the scope of what is happening. Truly, Fort Bliss will be the crown jewel of the Department of Defense.”