- Staff Writer
FAYETTEVILLE -- Kelly Edge has always hated computers, never felt the need for anything more high-tech than a good blow-dryer and curling iron at her Leading Edge Salon in Fayetteville. Six months ago, her 9-year-old shop didn't even have a Web page.
Then one of her regulars asked her: How are any of the thousands of new people moving into town in the next year going to find you?
Those people are soldiers and civilian employees from Fort McPherson, the U.S. Army base outside Atlanta that the military is closing. The prospect of gaining some new customers from all those soldiers and their families finally got Edge to put her shop on the Internet. Though the Georgia-to-North Carolina migration has barely begun, she has already seen an increase in business.
"I'm very excited about it," said Edge, a lifelong Fayetteville resident. "I feel like you can't get too crowded."
Much of the state is still slogging through a slow-to-recover economy. But in Fayetteville NC, the broader region around Fort Bragg and even as far away as the Triangle, planners are bracing for an influx of about 40,000 people who are expected to come with - or follow - two major Army commands moving to Fort Bragg.
Forces Command, led by a four-star general and the largest command in the Army, oversees the training, mobilization and deployment of most of the Army's troops. Army Reserve Command, led by a three-star general and under the direction of Forces Command, is in charge of all reserve units.
The two commands will bring nearly 3,000 new soldiers and civilian military employees to Fort Bragg, many of them from much higher pay grades than the typical new recruit. But it's the other money under Forces Command's control that is generating most of the hype. The command has an annual budget of $30 billion to train and equip soldiers, and hundreds of contractors competing for their share are expected to move from Atlanta or elsewhere to be closer to the generals who sign the checks.
With them would come spouses and children and hundreds of millions of dollars in salaries to be spent on goods and services. In all, studies say, the move could generate up to 19,000 new jobs in an 11-county area. Coupled with normal growth, the influx of people could push population in the region from about 950,000 now to more than 1million when the relocation is complete.
Members of the commands' advance parties began arriving last month, with about 300 expected to be here by the end of the year. Within a year, Fort Bragg, already the country's largest military base, will have more generals than any place outside Washington.
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