Fort Hood is the foundation of America’s military security.  Yet potential troop reduction or a continuation of the President’s disastrous sequestration policies could do long-term harm to The Great Place.  I’ll never stop fighting to prevent that from happening.

From ISIS to Al Qaeda, significant threats to the American way of life endure.  Yet our Army continues to diminish from a high of 562,000 troops in 2012 to what could become as few as 420,000 by the end of the decade. 

It would be easy to eliminate troops from Fort Hood to meet these goals.  But it would be bad for the Army, our soldiers, and our nation’s security.

The Army will be hard pressed to find an installation with a higher military value than Fort Hood.  With 342 square miles of outstanding infrastructure, maneuver ranges, live fire impact areas, and power projection capabilities, The Great Place is one of a handful of bases in the US where troops can get full scale training for overseas warfare.

Texans embrace the warriors at Fort Hood in ways other states can’t match.  We appreciate their service and welcome them into our communities.  

We offer a great quality of life.  The Army and the country save money at Fort Hood due to a reasonably priced housing market.  The average price of a four bedroom home near Fort Hood is about $33,000 less than one near Fort Riley, Kansas and $80,229 less than Fort Carson, Colorado. 

The low cost of living in Central Texas empowers Soldiers with greater purchasing power.  Soldiers at Fort Riley would have to be paid 8% more to have the same purchasing power as those stationed at Fort Hood; those at Fort Carson would require 12% more.  For Soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, their hard-earned dollars go a long way.

Fort Hood has superior abilities to move soldiers and equipment due to Central Texas’ robust transportation infrastructure and access to ports less than 300 miles away.  Other installations are far more cost prohibitive; Fort Carson is 1,000 miles from Long Beach and Fort Riley is 800 miles from Galveston.

Good stewardship of the nation’s resources requires cost effective military installations.  Our brave military continues to deploy and confront our adversaries worldwide; we must ensure they are resourced to win.  We can best do this through fiscal discipline and by relying on the many assets of bases like Fort Hood. 

Texans are proud of Fort Hood and The Great Place must remain at the center of America’s military security.  I encourage our nation’s leaders to embrace fiscal responsibility with an eye on strong defense.  But we should not balance the budget by cutting bases like Fort Hood, where Soldiers are the most supported.