{"id":4030,"date":"2020-09-21T22:19:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T22:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/?p=4030"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:52:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T15:52:55","slug":"what-it-means-to-support-the-military-to-fort-bragg-house-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/9thstreetjournal.org\/2020\/09\/21\/what-it-means-to-support-the-military-to-fort-bragg-house-candidates\/","title":{"rendered":"What it means to support the military to Fort Bragg House candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"
Most Americans don\u2019t think about war every day. Many don\u2019t even personally know a service member or veteran. At Fort Bragg, the nation\u2019s largest Army post and one of the world\u2019s largest military bases, the word carries a different meaning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWar is not just three letters in the alphabet here. It\u2019s a way of life,\u201d said George Breece, an Army veteran, former state representative and former chairman of the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission.<\/span><\/p>\n With its outsized influence in the 8th Congressional District, Fort Bragg automatically has the ear of its Washington delegation. Now, voters of the 8th District \u2014 which stretches from Charlotte\u2019s eastern suburbs eastward to Cumberland County \u2014 must decide who they want as Fort Bragg\u2019s next House representative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n More than 120,000 soldiers and military family members live on base at Fort Bragg, and roughly 140,000 more live nearby in Fayetteville and other communities, said Elvia Kelly of Fort Bragg\u2019s public affairs office. As the largest metropolitan area in the 8th District, Fayetteville\u2019s voters could play a large role in the outcome of the congressional election.<\/span><\/p>\n One could think of Fayetteville as a \u201cmonotown\u201d with one big employer: Fort Bragg. It\u2019s hard to understate the installation\u2019s influence on the local economy, said Kelli Cardenas Walsh, an Army veteran and a history and military studies professor at Fayetteville State University.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople on both sides like to remind the community that without Fort Bragg, the economy of Fayetteville would greatly suffer, and I have no doubt about that,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, the Fayetteville community \u201cbeams with pride\u201d and strongly supports the military, Breece said. But there\u2019s also a downside to living near a major base. The community hurts when someone from Fort Bragg gets injured or killed in combat, said Dan Dederick, a retired Marine and one of North Carolina\u2019s civilian aides to the secretary of the Army.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou know these people, you like them, you go to church with them, your kids go to school with them,\u201d Dederick said. \u201cAnd then when something bad happens, they get killed or wounded, it’s real close and personal.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The base makes that close-knit community more diverse, too. Fort Bragg attracts people from around the country, Breece said, and sometimes service members marry overseas. The city hosts an international folk festival each year with a parade of nations to celebrate the different cultures represented.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n That combination of diverse city and traditional military base makes for intriguing voter demographics in Cumberland County: 43% of voters are registered Democrats, 23% are registered Republicans and nearly 33% are registered independents, according to Sept. 19 numbers from the North Carolina State Board of Elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Unlike the rest of the 8th District counties, which traditionally vote Republican, Cumberland County historically votes Democratic. It was previously split between two districts, with the city of Fayetteville divided down the middle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year, though, the redrawn maps reunite the entire county in one district and concentrate the power of the Fayetteville vote.<\/span><\/p>\n The incumbent in the race, Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, proudly calls himself \u201cFort Bragg\u2019s congressman.\u201d Serving the base is his \u201cmost humbling and most important duty,\u201d\u00a0 spokesperson Greg Steele said. Hudson\u2019s commitment to Fort Bragg is proven by recent victories, Steele said, citing increased hazardous duty pay for certain troops and the creation of a pathway for service members to seek malpractice compensation from military health care providers<\/span><\/p>\n But Pat Timmons-Goodson, the 8th District\u2019s Democratic challenger and the child of a Fort Bragg military family, argues Hudson has not earned the moniker he\u2019s adopted. Standing up for soldiers, veterans and military families involves more than passing favorable legislation, she said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat our veterans and service members need are folks who will stand up with them in tough times,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s what leadership is, and that\u2019s what it calls for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nA military town that \u2018beams with pride\u2019<\/h2>\n
A proven incumbent, or a hometown challenger?<\/h2>\n