Photo By David Poe | (L to R) Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss commanding...... read more read more
A champion of the transformation of Fort Bliss to the "Home of America's Tank Division" was recently recognized for his role in advocating for Bliss to not only be left off of the Pentagon report to Congress, but to also become the largest gaining facility of any American military post around the world following the force realignment and modularization push, which included the $1 billion new William Beaumont Army Medical Center complex.
As of Jan. 10, 2024, following a renaming ceremony at a location fittingly situated between the Liberty Expressway (Spur 601) and the gate that leads into East Bliss, an area on post that was majorly transformed as a result of of the 2005 BRAC report, the former Constitution Gate access control point (ACP) at Fort Bliss, Texas, is now known as the Silvestre Reyes Gate.
The 2005 Base Closure and Realignment report to Congress resulted in the Army's largest organizational transformation since World War II. Fort Bliss received an investment of nearly $5 billion and underwent a 6-year construction boom, tripling its size to over 1 million acres.
Today, Team Bliss now accommodates training on all weapons systems in the Army arsenal. Additionally, the 100,000-plus Soldiers, family members, and government employees bring nearly $7 billion in direct spending to the local economy each year.
Prior to his first term as the representative for Texas' 16th Congressional District, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment left for Fort Carson, Colorado.
This departure decreased the Soldier population at Fort Bliss from 20,000 to about 9,000. At this time, Reyes served on national security and VA committees. During his time on these committees, he worked with constituents and other lawmakers to show that Fort Bliss was still important to the Army's readiness and ability to train for future threats.
In 2005, the Army was responsible for 47 percent of all the changes outlined in the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) report. The Army used this opportunity to optimize its installations, focusing on returning those that no longer contributed to the joint force and expeditionary Army, which was a different approach compared to previous BRAC rounds.
The Army's realignment of 53 installations or functions allowed them to create multi-component headquarters, joint bases, joint power projection platforms, and joint technical and research facilities. This also facilitated the rebasing of overseas forces under Global Defense Posture Realignment, which included moving the 1st AD headquarters to Bliss.
The 2005 BRAC report mandated an expansion program at Fort Bliss. This expansion included 4,500 acres of greenfield development, 130 projects, and 300 facilities. These new facilities provided 11 million square feet of new buildings to accommodate the influx of 1st AD troops and families, and also included the addition of a combat aviation brigade from Fort Cavazos, Texas.
During its expansion, Fort Bliss acquired 800,000 new acres of training space from the neighboring White Sands Missile Range, N.M. This expansion resulted in Fort Bliss becoming home to three major range complexes.
Currently, Fort Bliss is the largest installation in the U.S. Army Forces Command portfolio and boasts the largest continuous tract of restricted airspace in the continental U.S., making it a preferred training location for both stationed and visiting troops from around the world.
Reyes acknowledged that the accomplishments of El Paso and the Borderland were due to compromise, collaboration, and bi-partisanship, even though the gate would be named after him.
“I still keep in touch with my friends that helped me accomplish the kinds of things that you see here today, both Democrats, Republicans, a few Independents, but all of them working together to continue to make this country what it is today and to continue to support the men and women in our military,” he said. “I'm eternally grateful to them.”
Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, the 1st AD and Fort Bliss commanding general and host of the event, acknowledged Reyes' efforts in support of Fort Bliss. He emphasized the difficulty of getting the Army to name an ACP after a living person.
“We solicited letters of input from the community and I really appreciate the community leaders who helped contribute to that,” said Taylor, who also commended the work of Team Bliss and his predecessor, Maj. Gen. James Isenhower III, for getting the name change completed – a two-year process. “We made the case.We solicited letters of input from the community and I really appreciate the community leaders who helped contribute to that -- and then we had to take it all the way through the Pentagon and ultimately it was the Secretary of the Army who approved just a few months ago.”
Taylor said the location of the new Silvestre Reyes ACP was intentional for his legacy’s significance to the mission of the 1st AD.
“We chose this gate because it’s the main entrance to the 1st Armored Division side of Fort Bliss,” Taylor said. “It was him who drove national leadership to consider bringing the 1st Armored Division here and we wanted to recognize him for that.”
The ACP is situated adjacent to the Liberty Expressway, a 7.5-mile state highway and bridge system that loosely separates the main cantonment area at Bliss. Constructed between 2007 and 2011 at a cost of $368 million to the Texas Department of Transportation, the Liberty Expressway connects U.S. 54 (Patriot Freeway) with Loop 375 (Purple Heart Memorial Freeway) in east El Paso, and has improved access to East Bliss, Biggs Army Airfield, and the El Paso International Airport.
The SPUR 601 project was considered innovative due to its partnership between public and private industry, which streamlined the building process and management of project costs.
Reyes, born in 1944 in Canutillo, Texas, was one of 10 siblings. He attended the University of Texas at El Paso before being drafted and sent to Vietnam in 1966, where he suffered complete hearing loss in his right ear due to mortar fire.
Before running for office, Reyes served in the U.S. Border Patrol from 1969 to 1995, rising to the position of Sector Chief for the El Paso and McAllen sectors, together encompassing more than 150,000 square miles in West Texas and the entire state of New Mexico.
Reyes, who is now retired but still active and writing a book about his experiences, generously acknowledged the many people whose vision and determination helped develop Fort Bliss after BRAC 2005. He included his wife Carolina, who passed away three years ago, and said he would share the honor with her and all mothers.
“As it often happened, Carolina didn't get the credit that she deserves for the things that she did as my life partner,” he said. “Because she went with me throughout the world, she went to places where our troops were, and she quickly developed a reputation of being a ‘Soldier's mom.’ When she accompanied me, she would ask the important questions, ‘Have you contacted your wife,’ your mother? Your dad?
“Every single person in the uniform, whether it's the Army, the Navy, the Marines, Coast Guard, no matter what -- is tied together,” Reyes said. “How? By having a mom that loves them; having a mom that cares for them; having a mom that worries about them. Like Carolina – like all of the moms that are here that are a key part of what provides the energy to protect this great nation. I miss her every single day, but she's here and the evidence that she is is all of you being here. Thank you for that.”
Reyes ended his speech by addressing the troops and families at Fort Bliss, and the many veterans who have remained in El Paso, referring to them as "a part of our great, great family."
Approximately 20 years after BRAC 2005, which was a transformative time for the Army, Fort Bliss underwent an exceptional transformation. This was due in part to public advocates like Reyes and many others who helped shift Fort Bliss from having a specialized mission to becoming an Army hub that trains and deploys approximately 70,000 troops and civilians annually.
The outgoing Under Secretary of the Army, Hon. Gabe Camarillo, the 35th Army undersecretary and an El Paso native, was present at the ceremony. He touted that since the BRAC 2005 report and Bliss’ expansion, Fort Bliss has seen constant activity, from the Global War on Terrorism to today.
“Soldiers out of Fort Bliss go to Europe and Poland as part of our mission to provide reassurance to our NATO allies as we speak,” said Camarillo. “The missions continue to expand at Fort Bliss.
“The Army really depends on its communities to be successful,” said Camarillo, “and I think there's no better example of that than we have here in El Paso.”
| Date Taken: | 01.10.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 01.14.2025 17:16 |
| Story ID: | 489079 |
| Location: | FORT BLISS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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