Military growth at Ellington poised to boost economy

The military is invading the Bay Area but it’s a welcome infiltration for the area economy.

A $100 million investment by the federal government is creating a building boom and an influx of troops, boosting the military population at the Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base to about 6,000.

“The impact is large, not only from an economic standpoint but also because of the protection and defense capabilities they bring to this area,’’ said John Martinec, chairman of the Ellington Field Task Force, a part of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership.

A dollar amount on the economic impact has yet to be calculated, but Martinec said he expects it to nearly quadruple the $175 million impact that 1,500 military personnel brought to Ellington two years ago.

In early January, several new military facilities will open at the reserve base off State Highway 3. It’s part of Ellington Airport which is operated by the Houston Airport System.

The expansion provides state-of-the-art training facilities for Army Reserve and Army National Guard units about to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

The training “lets deploying units hit the ground running, so they don’t have that learning curve when they get there,’’ said Army Reserve Lt. Col. Jon Elliott, deputy division engineer of the 75th Battle Command Training Division.

The $80 million construction project includes:

A 40,000 square-foot Battle Command Training Center, which simulates war conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trainees can practice driving a simulated vehicle or fire simulated weapons on the simulated streets of Baghdad or Bagram.

“They can script scenarios to build a school or provide security for elections,’’ said Army Reserve Maj. Mark Williford, public affairs officer for the 75th Battle Command Training Division. “This type of technology has been a phenomenal success.’’

Army Reservists come to Ellington to train from all over Southeast Texas, he said.

A second Armed Forces Reserve Center with an assembly hall and offices.

A Welcome Center, which will handle retention, recruitment and military identification services. The military ID center is expected to bring thousands of retired and active military annually to the Bay Area to renew or pick up IDs.

Navy, Marine Corps and Army Reserve maintenance and storage facilities

A security checkpoint

A new $20 million Coast Guard headquarters facility, scheduled to be completed in 2012.

Ellington now has the rare distinction of having all five military branches of the U.S. Department of Defense — Army, Navy and Marine Reserve units, Army and Air National Guard — in addition to the Coast Guard under the Department of Homeland Security, and NASA operations — on one base.

“It’s truly a joint reserve base. It’s a new trend,” Williford said, adding that it makes sense from an efficiency and response standpoint. “We can serve as a staging area for disasters.”

Many of the personnel are relocating from military facilities that are closing along Old Spanish Trail in Houston and in the Pasadena area, Williford said.

The reserve base also is home to F-16 "Vipers" of the Oklahoma Air National Guard's 138th Fighter Wing, which offer protection to an array of potential terrorist targets in the Houston area.

“The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have identified 17 asset targets from a terrorist standpoint, and Houston has all 17,’’ Martinec said, adding that they include refineries and petrochemical plants along the Houston Ship Channel, NASA and the Texas Medical Center.

“They (F-16s) offer important protection to the Houston community as well as the nation,’’ he said.

Martinec said the task force hopes the reserve base eventually will bring in a new commissary and post exchange store, particularly since the Houston area boasts the second largest number of retired veterans in the country.

“We are working like a dog to make that happen,’’ Martinec said.

The task force also hopes to see a physical fitness center, on-site lodging, a rifle range and smaller arms range, a medical clinic and a veteran services center come to Ellington.

He urges area contractors in the Bay Area to watch for open bids related to the expansion.

The possibility of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University coming to the Ellington area could prove to be a “very symbiotic’’ relationship with the military sector, Martinec said. That decision should be made early in the new year.

“We’ve come a long way and we’re not finished yet,’’ he added.

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