What’s in the latest defense authorization bill for Fort Bragg?

Fort Bragg could receive $240 million in federal funds to support the installation’s programs and infrastructure.

The funds are included in the U.S. Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026, which the chamber’s Armed Services Committee passed earlier this month. It’s a piece of legislation that permits the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear program to spend their allocated budgets in accordance with the policies outlined in the bill.

“As the largest base for the U.S. Army, and the largest military installation in the entire world, Fort Bragg’s critical role in preparing the men and women of the U.S. Army’s most elite units for combat is unrivaled,” Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina, a member of the Armed Services Committee who helped negotiate funding for the installations in the bill, told CityView over email. 

“This year’s NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act] helps better equip, train and support troops stationed at Fort Bragg, maintaining its vital role in training the Army’s most specialized and lethal forces.”

Of the millions in allocations to Fort Bragg included in the bill, many fulfill the Army’s funding requests outlined in its proposed construction budget, including:

• $19 million to build facilities for the Automated Infantry Platoon Battle Course, a required training that tests an infantry platoon’s reconnaissance and attack skills. It’d be the first Automated Infantry Platoon Battle Course on Fort Bragg.

• $24 million to complete the construction of a four-bay aircraft maintenance hangar for aircraft serving the Army’s Special Operations Command, which is headquartered at Fort Bragg. The one currently used is over 60 years old and lacks “adequate maintenance facilities,” according to the Army’s proposed construction budget.

• $80 million to construct on-site, independent power generation and a microgrid. The electric infrastructure improvements will ensure the Special Operations Training Facility compound can maintain power for at least two weeks in the event of a power outage.

• $32 million in funding for the Special Operations Forces Mission Command Center, which includes the construction of a new loading bay and the renovation of a storage area for the force’s weapons and ammunition.

• $80 million in funding for the first construction phase of an ammunition supply point for the Special Operations Forces, which will receive, assemble and issue ammunition and explosives for the force.

• $5 million in funding to establish the Pathfinder Airborne Program, which will be a partnership between academic researchers from the University of North Carolina System and soldiers to develop technological solutions to military problems.

More broadly, the bill includes a 3.8% pay raise for all service members and establishes a pilot calculation method for Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates. BAH refers to the allowance that service members receive for off-post housing. Under the pilot calculation method, BAH rates would be based on rental costs by bedroom size. Currently, the rates are based on broad rental market data, a service member’s pay grade and whether they have dependents.

The bill also includes $6.4 billion in funding to support military infrastructure, including for family housing and barracks. Soldiers and military families have reported issues, including mold, with Fort Bragg barracks and family housing for years. The funding is divided across all service branches, with a given branch’s secretary determining allocations to each installation.

Given the installation’s size and strategic importance, Fort Bragg is likely to receive a portion of this infrastructure money from the Secretary of the Army, a source familiar with the National Defense Authorization Act process told CityView.

The U.S. House’s Armed Services Committee has its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act. Passed on July 15, the House bill includes the same funding amounts for Fort Bragg’s Automated Infantry Platoon Battle Course, the aircraft maintenance hangar, the microgrid and the ammunition supply point as the Senate’s version. The bill provides $65 million to the Special Operations Forces Mission Command Center, about double what the Senate appropriated.

While the House bill doesn’t include funding for the Pathfinder Airborne Program, it does include over $128,000 for other community projects on Fort Bragg. House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Richard Hudson, who represents Fort Bragg and parts of Fayetteville, negotiated for the bill to include $81,000 to build a two-story command and control facility for the 1st Special Forces Command and $44,700 to construct training facilities for the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Another allocation included House bill, but not in the Senate’s, is $8.1 million to go towards a Joint Intelligence Center for the Special Operations Forces.

None of the funding allocated to Fort Bragg in the House and Senate’s versions of the National Defense Authorization Act is final. Each version needs to pass a full chamber vote before undergoing a reconciliation process. Once the two bills are negotiated and combined, the final bill will go back to each chamber for final passage before being sent to President Donald Trump.

CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.