State of Fort Liberty: Reflecting on progress and preparing for future growth

By Stephanie Meador, posted Feb 15, 2024 on BizFayetteville.com

Left to right: Seymour, Wilcox, Donahue and Barker

Today, Feb. 15, several Fort Liberty leaders gathered to host a public discussion on the State of Fort Liberty. Lt. Gen Christopher Donahue, Commanding General of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, was joined by Col. John Wilcox, Garrison Commander, and Command Sgts. Maj. Bryan Barker and Gregory Seymour for a discussion on Fort Liberty’s progress over the past year and developing projects looking forward. Topics include warfighting, quality of life initiatives and innovation.

While the installation finds itself at an inflection point, Lt. Gen Donahue assured everyone that the priorities of the team remained rooted in the base’s principles. “Our priorities remain: warfighting and taking care of our people.”

From modernizing facilities to keeping a finger on the pulse of technological innovation, efforts are being made every day to make Fort Liberty a place where soldiers want to live and work.

“I've never seen the United States Army so well aligned from the Secretary, down to the lowest level to make sure that we're matching what is currently going on, but more importantly, how we're building an Army that can [flourish in] the future, and building in both the right structure and type of people…” remarked Lt. Gen Donahue.

Construction and repairs are being done or planned for barracks and roads. The barracks that previously had their residents evacuated due to mold have been cleaned up and redone and will be able to once again house soldiers beginning next month.

“We’re going to put about 10 to 20 percent of the funds that we get for the next five to 10 years [towards] improving major road networks. And we'll continue to focus much of our infrastructure development on the need for quality of life development and improvement,” shared Col. Wilcox.

Wilcox went on to add that they currently have three barracks planned for the next 10 years and are looking to add more as possible.

Another big project on the horizon is the new E.E. Smith High School proposed to be built right outside of the gate to serve both the installation and the greater community. Lt. Gen Donahue explained that this is planned to be a combination traditional and STEM High School. Right now they are still in the initial planning stages of outlining an approach that all parties agree on so that they can work together to make the school as great as possible.

As tensions abroad reiterate the importance of our military’s preparedness, Lt. Gen Donahue confirms that Fort Liberty and the entire 18th Airborne Corps continue to work “...to make sure that [they] can defend our national interests.”

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