Third Army arriving in Sumter
May 18, 2011
From The (Columbia, SC) State newspaper:
SUMTER — Lt. Col. Malcolm Earles was the first Third Army soldier to move here from Atlanta last year. And when he arrived, he noticed an interesting phenomenon.
Folks buy him lunch.
“Sometimes, you don’t even know who it is,” the Louisiana native said. “Atlanta was such a vast metropolitan area, you kind of got swallowed up.”
Not so here.
The arrival of Third Army and its 1,200 soldiers, 200 civilians and their families to their new Patton Hall headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base – which kicks off big time with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the facility Friday – is a huge economic boost for this city of 40,500 and county of 107,000. The soldiers are expected to generate about $120 million a year in economic impact, according to the Army.
Patton Hall – a 320,000-square-foot, $100 million behemoth of a building where the logistics and support for the ground troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the Middle East and Central Asia will be planned – is to be operational by Aug. 1. By the end of September, the number of Third Army soldiers and support staff is expected to swell from 140 now to the full contingent of 1,400.
“The floodgates are going to open the next few months,” Third Army spokesman Col. Gerald O’Hara said
And there are signs, literally, everywhere that the Gamecock City is ready to welcome the soldiers.
“Welcome 3rd Army” read a sign atop Williams Sporting Goods on Broad Street. The business has been selling hunting and fishing gear for 42 years, and is a hangout for the outdoors set.
Owner Joe Buddin, in between bites of fried chicken, said he’s already had some soldiers come in the store.
“It means more business,” he said of the move. “Hopefully, they will buy a lot of houses around here, too.”
Third Army is staffed to a great extend by officers of the rank of major and above and noncommissioned officers of the rank of first sergeant and above, O’Hara said. There will be 50 to 60 colonels, at least two generals. The average pay for Third Army soldiers is approximately $80,000 a year.
“So that is going to have a significant effect on our per capita income,” Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen said.
Friday’s ceremony is expected to be well attended by dignitaries and Army brass, including U.S. Reps. Jim Clyburn and Mick Mulvaney, Third Army commander Lt. Gen. William Webster and retired Gen. Michael Moseley, former Air Force chief of staff.
Also on hand will be George Patton “Pat” Waters of Charleston, Gen. George Patton’s grandson.
Third Army, formed as an occupation force during World War I, gained fame under Patton’s command during its campaign through France in World War II. Most significant was its relief of the 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.
Patton called that mission Operation Nickel. Recently, Third Army conducted the largest transfer of troops and equipment since World War II, called Nickel II, when ground forces were drawn down in Iraq and built up in Afghanistan.
Although Third Army’s stateside headquarters will be at Shaw, it also has an operational command post in Kuwait, and forward command posts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, it is still operating out of its main command post at Fort McPherson in Atlanta.
The new digs at Shaw, with its modern corporate campus design and wide windows, are a stark contrast to the bunker-like facilities in Atlanta.
“It’s just nice to be able to look out a window and see trees,” said Staff Sgt. Nick Salcido, a public affairs officer.
Salcido said he and his wife, Lynette, have purchased a home in Sumter’s historic district, and have found the small town delightful.
“I’m up for retirement in four years,” the New Mexico native said, “and we might just stay here.”
Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/05/19/1824517/ceremony-to-kick-off-big-move.html#ixzz1MoVnsvbs