Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) has announced the expansion of its Fayetteville presence with the opening of its new Joint Tech Acceleration Facility developed to create and field operationally relevant capabilities for the U.S. military and its warfighters. This investment reaffirms Booz Allen’s focus on applying innovation at the intersection of mission and technology.

In a closed ceremony featuring private community members, Booz Allen leaders, board members and other relevant guests, Booz Allen representatives officially cut the ribbon to celebrate the result of two years of work and development finally joining the Fayetteville area. 

Booz Allen’s Joint Tech Acceleration Facility is a modular, nearly 8,000-square-foot facility located in Fayetteville, NC, just minutes from Fort Liberty. It provides an ecosystem of resources and controlled collaboration spaces that enable the rapid adoption of proven solutions into existing command architectures and networks. With a modular floorplan, single or multiple teams have the flexibility to work collaboratively to identify, prototype, test, and deploy capabilities, reducing costs and time on on-site installations. 

“It’s a multifunctional space, it is a controlled environment. The way we've set it up, it provides for a lot of flexibility, where we can do prototyping there, we can do testing there, we can deploy capabilities there, and really testing simulating the client's environment and their networks,” shared Annette Redman, an executive vice president at Booz Allen based in Fayetteville. “We've got a large kind of modular area where we can do training, large scale demonstrations, whole post secure meetings, [etc.]” 

Following the ribbon cutting, guests were able to take self guided tours through different dedicated areas in the facility including: Cyber, AI/ MIL/ Data Science, Edge Systems and Devices, Network and Cloud sections. 

This facility will allow Booz Allen employees, clients and teammates to continue to engineer innovative, open and secure mission critical solutions while also removing costly proprietary barriers and offering the Department of Defense (DOD) full reign and flexibility to create the specialized solutions they need. 

“I think that what this really enables us to do, especially here locally, is to start doing some of that rapid deployment of ready solutions and have this facility to demonstrate that and get those out the door and kind of answer DOD’s call for capabilities in a quick fashion,” shared Redman. 

This is the latest facility of its kind to be added to Booz Allen locations across the country. The local Booz Allen location added staff to run the new facility and, according to Redman, will continue to expand in the future. 

“It really is here to meet the demand. What we're seeing across the board, across the DOD, is a desire for new capabilities for rapid fielding at speed and scale. There was a sense of urgency I think to meet some of the growing threats in the dynamic threat environment out there. So this is just another step in that process to give capability here locally, we're only minutes from Fort Liberty, and so to really provide that kind of capability here [we want to] to really be able to respond to evolving needs,” shared Redman.

Redman also shared that this new facility will not only provide resources, but will also connect with other lab facilities within Booz Allen Hamilton, provide training opportunities and provide access to other capabilities that are being developed across the firm. 

The Fayetteville Cumberland Economic Development Corporation (FCEDC) shared their excitement at the facility coming to Fayetteville and will continue to support Booz Allen and their impact on the technological advancements within the community. 

“We really believe that Fayetteville is becoming, and it is our goal to become, a center for applied innovation, that intersection of industry, and advanced technology and defense. And there is no louder statement that can be made than the investment by a private sector company to advance that area of expertise in your community, so it's absolutely something we're very proud of,” shared Robert Van Geons, President and CEO of the FCEDC. “Booz Allen Hamilton is one of our largest and best often quietly kept secret here and so we’re really grateful that they’re willing to share this.”  

In addition to careers for its workforce, Booz Allen provides funding, assistance, and technology expertise to a variety of local organizations supporting veterans and military families, STEM education, and environmental stewardship. Booz Allen is providing a kick-off grant for a STEAM Innovation Lab to be housed at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum in downtown Fayetteville. The STEAM Innovation Lab will educate students about the development and deployment of equipment, planning, and preparation of today’s Airborne and Special Operations Soldiers. Leading military, technology, and equipment businesses will help with developing primary, middle, and high school components for the Lab.

“The dynamic STEAM Innovation Lab will foster active learning and provide hands-on, problem-solving activities using military equipment and technology,” said Renee Lane, Executive Director of the Airborne and Special Operations Museum Foundation in a press release. “This is an exciting new opportunity for Museum visitors, especially school-age attendees and we are grateful for Booz Allen’s generous support.”

Booz Allen will continue to provide innovative technical support to defense, federal civilian, and national security clients in artificial intelligence, data science, software development, systems integration, engineering, and cybersecurity.

Redman shared Booz Allen ’s excitement and growth for this area with this new facility sharing in a press release: 

“Over the last 15 years, Booz Allen has been dedicated to the Fort Liberty area through multiple programs, projects and continued investments. Starting with only a handful of employees in the area and having grown to more than 600 across the region, we remain committed to the Fayetteville community and are excited to expand our operations to support the needs of the mission and warfighters.”