YORKTOWN, Va. - A groundbreaking ceremony was held Dec. 18 to begin the first phase of a military construction project to build new facilities for Marine Corps Security Force Regiment at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.
Phase one will see the completion of a regimental headquarters building, bachelor enlisted quarters (BEQ), supply facility, motor transportation facility and an armory. Phase one is scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2015.
According to Col. James M. Bright, commanding officer, Marine Corps Security Force Regiment, II Marine Corps Expeditionary Force (II MEF), consolidating the security force regiment at one facility will increase MCSFR’s efficiency by bringing all the commanders and staffs together as a unit.
“The consolidation of their facilities here aboard Naval Weapons Station Yorktown will have many benefits, including reducing the geographic dispersal of the unit, improving command and control, enhancing quality of training, mitigation of safety risks and efficiency gains in energy usage,” said Lt. Gen. Richard T. Tryon, commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command (MARFORCOM).
Phase two will see to the renovation of the current regimental headquarters building for use by Companies A, B and C, a Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team (FAST) training facility and classroom, and the construction of a second BEQ. The third and final phase will consist of the completion of another BEQ and a fitness center.
Total cost for the consolidation project is estimated at $100 million.
Security Force Regiment provides antiterrorism and security forces for the protection of naval and strategic assets around the world.
“I can think of no better location to house and support the security force regiment, whose units deploy around the world in support of our nation’s national military strategy,” said Tryon.