Fort Knox Transformation Moving Forward

Officials say good progress is being made on conversion of the Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Army base to a new mission. The armor school is moving to Ft. Benning, Georgia, in March, to make room for a multi-functional U.S. Army command center at Ft. Knox. As armor units move out, human resources, officer recruitment, cadet command and marksmanship units are moving in. Garrison Commander, Col. Eric Schwartz, is overseeing the transformation. “We’ve brought in this massive complex called the Human Resource Center of Excellence. About 4,200 civilians and military work in that complex – about a $240 million project that came from the ground up,” he said. Schwartz says the base’s population has risen from 31,000 to 42,000, which includes contractors and civilians, and there are 14,000 new vehicles on base. Housing remains a problem, with 55 percent of employees still living off base in 28 Kentucky and Indiana counties, but new housing units are being built as fast as possible.