Partnership seeks to stem fort brain drain
State, Army team to keep skilled workers in N.J.
BY JENNA O'DONNELL Staff Writer

TRENTON- According to current estimates, more than half of the 5,000 civilian employees at Fort Monmouth will be looking for jobs after the fort closes in 2011.

Projections by the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) and planners EDAW estimate that 3,000 of the fort's employees will be seeking work after the pending closure.

To support the local economy, Gov. Jon S. Corzine announced on April 30 that the state and the U.S. Army will enter a working partnership to offer New Jersey-based employment for certain highly skilled workers who will be affected by the closure of Fort Monmouth.

The fort's current work force has an average of 18 years of experience, according to FMERPA and EDAW's estimates. In addition, the education level of those employed includes about 32 Ph.D.s, over 600master's degrees, and nearly 700 bachelor's degrees.

Approximately 1,000 workers are expected to relocate with the Department of Defense while 15 percent may retire. According to FMERPA, 38 percent, or about 1,500 of all government civilian mission personnel are retirement eligible, or will be by September 2011.

In a prepared statement, Corzine said that he hoped to find some sort of solution for the approximately 5,000 people employed at the fort as well as the surrounding community who will be affected by the pending closure of the fort.

"We believe that, working together, we can find a win-win solution for the Army and the community around Fort Monmouth, including New Jersey workers and employers," Corzine said in the statement. "We appreciate the Army's willingness to work with us in planning this initiative."

In response to a letter fromCorzine, the secretary of theArmy has convened a working group to explore the feasibility of aMission Transition Assurance Contract (MTAC), which would establish a public/private partnership among the U.S. Army, current FortMonmouth civilian employees, the state of New Jersey, New Jersey colleges and universities, and private sector employers.

Through theMTAC, some of the current FortMonmouth work force would be designated to form a small group of highly skilled New Jersey-based federal employees who could continue to deliver support to the Army's mission of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR), after the Army transfers C4ISR personnel, equipment and skills to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, according to the statement.

Representatives of the Secretary of the Army and the Army Materiel Command met in Trenton earlier this month with state labor Commissioner David J. Socolow and a team of state agency representatives to begin discussing the MTAC concept.

"The governor and I are committed to helping the affected work force transition to the next phase of their careers and helping local defense contractors continue to provide high-quality employment in the region," said Socolow in the statement. "An important element of the state's comprehensive plan to help employers and employees transition to the new regional economy is reaching an agreement with the Army on an MTAC approach to maintain highly skilled workers in New Jersey."

The state and the Army are working together to refine the details of theMTAC initiative according to the statement. Staff members from both teams will continue to meet over the next several months to develop a specific plan to assist the Army in retaining key senior individuals with critical skills and experience who otherwise would be likely to depart, in order to reduce the impact on the Army's mission during the transition.