According to the Army’s Stationing and Installation Plan (ASIP), the Fort Meade workforce grew from approximately 35,000 in 2004 to 56,000 in 2011. The Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) portion of this growth was 5,800.
To put the size of the Fort Meade workforce into perspective, compare it with two of the Army’s largest (and less publicity shy) installations, Fort Hood and Fort Bragg.
By these numbers, Fort Meade is currently the second largest installation in the Army and one of the largest in the Department of Defense. Additionally, the Fort Meade Regional Growth Management Committee (RGMC) projects that the Fort Meade workforce will grow to 65,000 by 2015. So in a time when the national economy is under stress, jobs in the Fort Meade Region are growing.
What is particularly unique about Fort Meade is the proportion of its mission that is supported by civilians, in the government service and contractor (more than 13,000 of this installation’s workforce is made up of contractors) sectors.
A consequence of this workforce distribution is that the recruiting and retention respond to dynamics that are quite different from those of a major troop installation. For example, most soldiers and their families are “ordered” to a Fort Hood or Fort Bragg, while at Fort Meade civilian employees have to be attracted by job opportunities, pay and/or the quality of life in the surrounding community.
Still Growing
Why has Fort Meade grown, and why will it continue to grow while other defense entities take significant budget cuts?
The reasons are the missions and capabilities of its tenants. This installation is the epicenter of cybersecurity and information assurance in the United States. The missions of its major tenants, such as Defense Cyber Command, the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), are being driven by the cyberthreat to our country. This threat is real, rapidly growing and agile; therefore, the response to this threat also must be rapid and agile.
Fort Meade possesses the majority of these capabilities and, for these reasons, it is difficult to forecast how large it may become after 2015.
What does all this mean to our region? First, our region plays a critical role in support of the defense of our country. Second, the mission and growth of Fort Meade provides contracting opportunities for our businesses, large and small. These contract dollars fuel our job market and contribute to the quality of life that supports our residents.
This is the same quality of life that supports the recruiting and retentions of a mission essential workforce. Without these qualified people, the mission will suffer, and it could migrate to an area of the United States that has a more qualified workforce.
The Other Side
But, there is a down side to job growth in the region, and that is increased stress on our infrastructure, particularly in the area of transportation. More jobs equal more cars, which contribute to more congestion — which, if not addressed, will damage our quality of life and the installation mission.
This is the dilemma: how to keep positive job growth in the region from injuring the very quality of life that draws jobs to the region. This is the primary mission of the Department of Defense supported RGMC.
With questions and recommendations, or with inquiries about volunteering time in the areas of business, transportation, emergency management or family support planning, contact the following members of the RGMC staff.
• Business: Base Business Initiative, Raj Kudchadkar, rkudchadkar@howardcountymd.gov
• Transportation: Defense Transportation Initiative, Jean Friedberg, friedberg.jean@gmail.com
• Families: Defense Family Initiative, Pricelda Landry, plandry@howardcountymd.gov
• Emergency Management: Emergency Management Initiative, Diane Croghan, dcroghan@aacounty.org
