A new Army command is coming to Fort Bragg before the end of the year.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George estimated earlier this month that the new Western Hemisphere Command will be coming to Bragg within six to eight weeks, according to Inside Defense reporting. That puts the timeline for consolidation somewhere between late November and early December.
A number of Army units are being combined under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the name of streamlining the Department of Defense. The Western Hemisphere Command will combine the existing Forces Command already located at Fort Bragg with Army North and Army South—both headquartered currently in San Antonio at Fort Sam Houston.
“Our Army has gotten smaller and we have grown our headquarters, so we have to reduce the headquarters and I think we can become more efficient,” George said, according to Inside Defense.
A spokesperson for Forces Command declined to comment to CityView during the ongoing government shutdown but said more information would be available once the government reopens.
The offices of Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd and Rep. Richard Hudson did not respond to requests for comments about the new command coming to Fort Bragg.
The change has been in the works for months, starting with an April memo from Hegseth that said “to build a leaner, more lethal force” the Army had to rid itself of “outdated, redundant, and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems.” That was followed by a far-reaching Army Transformation Initiative in May, which, among other directives, announced the elimination of 1,000 Army staff positions to “optimize force structure.”
Forces Command is the largest Army command with over 750,000 active-duty, reserve and National Guard soldiers. Army North is responsible for Army activities within the United States and North America, while Army South covers the Caribbean and Central and South America.
Details on the move remain sparse, including how many people will be moving to Fort Bragg.
Army North has about 700 troops and civilian employees, while Army South has not said how many people work under it, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Some elements of both commands would remain in San Antonio, the Express-News reported.
Several congressional representatives in June asked Hegseth to consider locating the new Western Hemisphere Command in San Antonio. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) wrote to the Secretary of the Army this month requesting an expansion of Western Hemisphere Command personnel in San Antonio despite the announcement of the move to North Carolina.
It is not yet clear what the new command will look like for those on and off post at Fort Bragg. But Devin Heath, president and CEO of DistiNCtly Fayetteville—an economic development organization promoting tourism in Cumberland County—said the city is ready to embrace it.
“We’re certainly excited about the consolidation of the Western Hemisphere Command at Fort Bragg,” Heath wrote in an email to CityView. “While this move is unique compared to previous consolidations and the full economic impact is yet to be seen, we know that Cumberland County will extend its signature warmth and support to the incoming men and women who will be relocating here.”