Heightened security fears and two wars propelled growth at Joint Base Lewis-McChord over the past decade, boosting the Army’s ranks in the South Sound and injecting billions of dollars into the region’s economy.

A few numbers help tell the story of how quickly the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq intensified the Army’s expansion plans for the base south of Tacoma.

 • The number of soldiers at the base swelled from fewer than 19,000 before the terror attacks to more than 34,000 today. Some belong to units that grew because of the wars, such as the Green Berets in the 1st Special Forces Group. Others, such as the base’s three Stryker brigades, might have expanded even without the conflicts, officers said.
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Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/09/10/1817291/soldiers-dollars-flow-to-local.html#ixzz1XeToVJam



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