Organizing State Efforts to Respond to Mission Growth

More than a third of states are struggling to accommodate large and rapid population increases at and around their military bases in response to shifts in defense priorities. This “mission growth” creates great economic opportunity for states, but it also places a strain on their infrastructure and increases demand for government services. In response, states are creating dedicated state mission growth working groups to coordinate work across state agencies, engage local communities, and serve as one collective voice for state legislatures, the military, and other stakeholders.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is in the midst of a major transformation whereby more than two dozen bases across the nation are enhancing their mission, increasing training activity and defense operations, and expanding military and civilian personnel.1 As a result of this “mission growth,” the surrounding defense communities must expand at a rate not experienced since World War II. According to one estimate, military personnel and dependents alone will increase by a total of more than 340,000 spread across the 20 most impacted bases.i This is an average increase of 35 percent, but at some bases it may be as much as 100 percent or more. Additional growth will come from defense-related contractors and other secondary workers. For instance, the expansion of Fort Riley in Kansas will increase the population within a sevencounty area between 26 and 32 percent by 2012. In addition, Fort Bliss in Texas will grow by at least 300 percent – from 9,000 soldiers and 15,000 family members in 2005 to 38,000 soldiers and 53,000 family members in 2012.