Lakehurst Naval Air Engineering Station, New Jersey – Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton) attended a groundbreaking ceremony today at the Navy base to mark the beginning of a $2.25 million military construction project he obtained in the Fiscal Year 2004 defense budget. 

    “Military recruiters in the Army perform a mission that is more vital today than ever before,” said Smith, adding “when you are fighting a war on terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq and you want to remain an all-volunteer force, it is absolutely critical that we give our recruiters all the tools they need to keep our military the finest in the world."

    The new Army headquarters facility will be built for the Army’s Mid Atlantic Recruiting Battalion, which is a Navy Lakehurst tenant organization. The Army Recruiting mission has been at Lakehurst since 1997, and had outgrown its ‘temporary’ facility many years ago. The new building will be a 10,000 square foot structure that will hold approximately 40 Army staff.

    The battalion is comprised of over 260 military and civilian personnel, and covers a 17,000 square mile region including the entire state of New Jersey plus portions of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland. The Army Battalion supports six companies and 45 recruiting stations in the region. 

    “I am extremely pleased to support the steady advancement of the Joint Basing concept here at Lakehurst with the construction of this new Army facility on Navy soil,” Smith noted, saying “Captain Mark Bathrick deserves a lot of credit for making Lakehurst one of the most Joint Base friendly installations in the United States, a place where all four major Service branches can come use our facilities to accomplish their missions more effectively."

    During the upcoming Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) analysis, military installations will be ranked on the basis of military value, and their ability to contribute to joint-service missions. Installations able to facilitate and enhance joint-service missions will have an advantage over those which cannot offer such capabilities. Rep. Smith has worked to assist non-Navy tenants to jointly utilize the facilities at Lakehurst to their maximum potential.

    Smith has helped steer more than $50 million in federal investments into Lakehurst over the last several years, and thanked his Congressional colleagues Rep. Saxton and Rep. LoBiondo, who are on the House Armed Services Committee, for their help in making this project a reality.