Two Fairfax County supervisors are protesting the slashing of Fort Belvoir’s private gate security, saying the cuts will bog down traffic and complicate a massive troop influx to the base.
As part of an Army-wide reduction, Belvoir will be forced to trim its contract guard staff from 131 to 78 and close one entrance gate and two sparsley-used exits.
It is possible the decision will be re-examined in the face of nearly 22,000 new military jobs set to relocate to FortBelvoir by 2011, a move ordered under the Base Realignment and Closure process.
In a joint resolution, Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerald Hyland, whose southern Fairfax County district encompasses the base, and Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman argue that the reductions will worsen traffic along Route 1 and Telegraph Road and other access points. And they say it will add new uncertainty to planning for thousands of incoming workers.
“When you add 21,500 people, you shouldn’t be closing gates, you should be opening gates,” Hyland said. “It’s the antithesis of how you handle people coming to and from that installation. To say that it’s shocking is an understatement.”
Fort Belvoir has already appealed the decision, an Army spokesman said last week. The Army will cut 30 percent of its private gate security manpower across the country, a plan expected to save as much as $70 million.
