Maryland residents should be very excited about the many benefits expected in our great state due to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions of 2005.

The Department of Defense chooses the BRAC process when looking to restructure military operations throughout the country in order to make our nation’s military stronger and better able to respond to homeland security needs. Maryland is one such state that will be taking on more responsibility in this endeavor. For example, the headquarters of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will be relocating from Virginia to Fort Meade, and Team C4ISR, which oversees several aspects of military communications and command, will be relocating from New Jersey to Aberdeen Proving Ground. These are just two of the many exciting military operations that will now call Maryland home.

So, what does this mean for Maryland residents?

Simply put, with a larger military presence, there will be civilian job growth in the security industry and services sector, with estimates of around 30,000 brand new jobs; there will be new career opportunities for Maryland’s young people, as some of our country’s most important operations are now closer to home; there will be an increase in the buying and selling of goods due to the increase in military personnel in the state; and there will be higher demand for Maryland real estate, as an estimated 28,000 military households are expected to relocate to Maryland.

These are all great things for Maryland!

Of course, with our low unemployment rate, reasonable cost of living, affordable housing, pride in our region’s history, and the natural beauty that abounds in our rivers, mountains, plateaus, and coastal ranges, there is a lot for our new neighbors to be happy about as well!