This column first appeared in CityView Magazine’s “The Military Issue” July 2026 edition.

In Fayetteville, everyone is in the Army.

We may not all wear the uniform. We may not have a rank or military occupational specialty. And we may not be required to salute superior officers. But around here, we’re Army nonetheless. Because in one way or another, every one of us is touched by the Army every day. Every one of us supports the Army and its soldiers with whatever we do, from business owners all the way to the kids who flip burgers. 

The Army, and to a lesser extent other service branches, is the main driver of almost everything that happens here. There is no bigger, or more powerful, force in our town—driving the economy, entertainment, the service industries, education, health care, and more. Nothing else comes close. 

It’s impossible to imagine what Fayetteville and Cumberland County would be without Fort Bragg. I’ve heard more than a few leaders over the years suggest that we’d likely be just another dusty crossroads, a far-smaller city serving the mostly agricultural industry scattered about the region, a hub of regional commerce in an area that had little distinguishing it from any of the other cities dotting the inland southeastern corner of the state. 

We missed the boat back in 1789, when the state’s founding fathers ratified the U.S. Constitution here, but then decided Raleigh would make a better state capital. It could have been quite the downhill slide from there, were it not for the Army building an artillery training ground here for World War I, naming it Camp Bragg. And now look at us—the hometown of what is  often referred to today as “Pentagon South.”

Early in May, the Army held its annual “State of Fort Bragg” presentation that detailed some impressive statistics about what has long been the country’s most important military post. The numbers include: 

  • 48,775 military personnel
  • 80,110 military family members
  • 17,505 civilians and military contractors
  • 97,105 retirees and families supported
  • $10.7 billion economic impact in North Carolina annually (nearly $30 million a day)
  • Largest American military installation in total supported population (more than 265,000)
  • Third-largest Army installation (by acreage) east of the Mississippi
  • Taken by itself, it would be the fifth-largest city in North Carolina.

Fort Bragg is home to the Army’s new Western Hemisphere Command, the XVIII Airborne Corps, the Army Special Operations Command, the Joint Special Operations Command, Army Reserve Command, and the 82nd Airborne Division, along with many smaller units.

That’s the elephant in our room—every room. And for the most part, it’s a great elephant to have. Yes, we do live and die, rise and fall, with every year’s Defense Department budget. We do hold our breath—and do some intense lobbying, official and informal—each time the Pentagon announces a major reorganization. 

But over the long haul, the post has been like a great growth stock our grandparents bought, steadily appreciating in value and importance as the years passed. 

It’s easy to wonder, though, what the post—and thus Fayetteville—will look like in another 20, 50, or 100 years. What will war look like in the future? Will we still need to train soldiers to jump out of airplanes? Will we even need soldiers, or at least as many as we have now? Will robotics take the place of humans on the battlefield? We can look at how drone warfare in Ukraine has already changed the face of war, and wonder what even the next five or ten years of innovation will bring. It’s fair to ponder what advanced technology will mean for Fort Bragg’s future. 

But over my years in Fayetteville, I saw a hint of how the region will cope with changes in the military. More than a hint, really. More like a well-written plan. Because I’ve never seen a place more united in a mission to keep its biggest economic engine thriving. I’ve even seen Yellow-Dog Democrats and bright-red MAGA Republicans working well together on anything involving the post. It’s an amazing thing to see in a country so politically divided. When it comes to Fort Bragg, there is no political warfare around here; everyone’s on the same team. 

Meanwhile, I’ve also listened as some of our elected leaders and the economic developers they’ve hired have talked about diversifying Cumberland County’s economy, making us less dependent on the federal budget. I’ve always supported that idea, but I’ve also taken it with a grain or two of salt. Other than a few call centers and warehouse-distribution centers, not much has happened. And my best guess is that not much will happen in the future, either. 

For better or worse—and mostly it’s better—Fort Bragg is the core of our economy, now and far into the future. 

And that’s OK. We can all salute that.