CLARKSVILLE-MONTGOMERY COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT

CLARKSVILLE-MONTGOMERY COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BLUEPRINT
Actions:
• Work with Fort Campbell to formalize the use of the Veterans’ Inventory on an
ongoing basis. This survey was previously utilized by CMCEDC as part of regional
workforce studies conducted in 2006 and 2011. The Heart of Texas Defense
Alliance (www.hotda.org), a community-funded, nonprofit organization serving the
Fort Hood area, could serve as a model for how this system can best be leveraged
by the community on a permanent basis.
• Consider conducting a fact-finding trip to Killeen, Texas, to see the approach to
community advocacy taken by the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance (HOTDA). As
part of this visit, local leaders could get a firsthand look at their use of the
Veterans Inventory as an economic development tool.
• Work with Fort Campbell's Retiree Services Officer to identify strategies for
connecting with military retirees residing in Montgomery County.
• Promote existing Veterans’ employment programs, such as the Returning Heroes
Tax Credit or the Wounded Warrior Tax Credit, to area employers by including
features in CMCEDC communications, making presentations to local business and
civic organizations, and providing links on the CMCEDC site to available resources.
The consulting team will provide a database of federal, non-profit, and private
employment resources designed to assist transitioning services members.
Preparing for potential future BRAC rounds
Experts who have fought for their military
installations in previous Base Realignment and
Closure (BRAC) rounds recommend the following
strategies to defense communities in order to
demonstrate the military value of their installations:
• Establish a formal and ongoing mechanism
for communication with the commanding
officers (COs) at the installation.
• Schedule “commander’s briefings” for the
congressional delegation on a regular basis.
• Build a grass-roots relationship with the
command structure at the base. This should
extend beyond local public officials:
business, community, veteran, and retiree
groups should all build relationships with
local commanders.
• Communicate with spouses of service members and separating service members
about jobs or industry developments that may be of interest through e-newsletters,
networking events, and word-of-mouth marketing.
• A more aggressive approach to connecting Veterans and their families with
employment could include helping to fund a CMCEDC staff position dedicated to
this task or creating a “one-stop” that combines resources for all relevant organizations in a single location.
• Utilize the online BRAC library to learn what
has been said and written about the base
and similar operations in the past
(www.brac.gov/LibraryComm.aspx).
• Work with employers and area non-profits to create the civilian equivalent of the resources provided to Fort Campbell families through the
Family and Morale, Welfare & Recreation office.
• Strengthen regional ties to Fort Campbell and efforts to advocate on its behalf. With the Department of Defense having to absorb
potentially one trillion dollars in budget cuts over the next 10 years along with the planned downsizing of the US Army, existing groups such
28