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Base work could swell population by 3,800
As Wright-Pat takes in work from other sites, workers and their families will move to region.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
RIVERSIDE — Up to 3,800 government workers and family members could swell the populations of local communities as military work in other states relocates to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, its commander said Tuesday.
Wright-Pat expects to gain 700 military and 550 civilian positions by this time in 2011 as the Air Force implements the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005, Col. Colleen Ryan said. She expects the jobs to begin moving here in 2008.
Col. Colleen Ryan, 88th Airbase Wing commander, updated local civic and business leaders Tuesday about the effects of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations.But the total population change will be much larger when family members are counted, she said.
Base officials expect the actual number to fall below 3,800 because some civilians and their families won't follow the jobs to Wright-Pat, Ryan told a Community Business Luncheon at the Walnut Grove Country Club.
But that will create local job openings for engineers, scientists and technical specialists in sensors, human effectiveness and medicine, she said.
The 2005 BRAC process directs the Air Force to relocate several major research units, some acquisition offices and its School of Aerospace Medicine to Wright-Pat. The base will also gain the Navy's aerospace medical research program.
Here are some key updates Ryan described.
• Jobs: The base expects to hire scientists and research specialists in sensors and human effectiveness; acquisition and program managers; and aerospace medicine instructors and research specialists. She did not estimate how many will be needed.
• Construction: About half of the $842 million the Air Force Materiel Command expects to spend on its share of the military adjustments will go to Wright-Pat. Base engineers have identified 16 construction projects that will be needed to house the new work, at costs of $23 million for planning and design and $335 million for construction.
• Location: Engineers want to locate most of the new work on Area B, the old Wright Field section that includes the National Museum of the United States Air Force. A dormitory for medical school students — Ryan said the base expects a daily average of 300 transient students — is being considered for the Kittyhawk Center area in Fairborn.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgaffney@
DaytonDailyNews.com.
