No known cuts are coming to Fort Campbell in this year’s defense budget, but the installation has other longstanding problems that need resolving.
Vice Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Joseph Martin addressed these matters during a U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearing last week.
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07) asked Martin about Fort Campbell, which is the U.S. Army installation located on the Kentucky and Tennessee borders. Green said 85 percent of Fort Campbell is within his Tennessee Congressional district.
“A good portion of those individuals live in my district, and it’s important to me [with] the 101st Airborne Division, the 160th Special Forces Group,” Green said.
“As I look at the budget it doesn’t appear to me there are any significant cuts to those units and to that installation. I just want to confirm from you that in this budget there aren’t significant cuts to Fort Campbell.”
Martin said he knew of no significant cuts. Green, citing Fort Campbell’s “strategic footprint and the size of its airfield and its deployability,” said he appreciated that.
The 101st Airborne Division is the U.S. Army’s only air assault division, according to Fort Campbell’s website.
The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s mission is to organize, equip, train, resource and employ U.S. Army special operations aviation forces worldwide in support of contingency missions and combatant commanders. Known as Night Stalkers, these soldiers are proficient in nighttime operations, according to the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Command’s website.
Green also told Martin about significant problems with Fort Campbell’s barracks, specifically within its First Brigade.
“Mold. They move the troops out. They clean it up. Put them back in. Mold reappears. It’s time for those barracks to go. We keep pushing it to the top of the list. The DOD keeps pushing it to the bottom of the list,” Green told Martin.
“I would like to ask you to take a personal interest in that for me. That would be important. We have got to get those barracks replaced.”
Martin told Green he would investigate the barracks to see what he and other officials can do to help.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Something tells me that IF Biden and Kamala stay in office for four years, Fort Campbell’s budget will need and get significant increases in funding. Just like with everything else, inflation has substantially raised the price of white marble. We must keep the military industrial complex satiated, right? Very sad!