Area military, community leaders reaffirm their mutual support

The nation’s military and their families were recognized Monday during the signing of the fourth annual Armed Forc­es Community Covenant at Market Square in Alexandria.

On hand to sign the docu­ment were representatives from Fort Belvoir, Quantico Marine Corps base, the Mili­tary District of Washington, the Naval Support Activity, lo­cal municipal and county gov­ernments, and the public.

Fort Belvoir commander Col. John Strycula said the covenant was designed by the Army in 2008 to foster and strengthen effective partner­ships between the nation’s military services and local communities.

The Quantico Belvoir Re­gional Business Alliance, which helped sponsor the event, began its tradition of covenant signings four years ago in Northern Virginia. The alliance is a nonprofit orga­nization whose mission is to position the Northern Virginia region as a welcoming and supportive community to the military and its business part­ners.

“The first covenant signing was just with the Army but since then has been expanded to include all military services, rightly so, because Fort Bel­voir and Northern Virginia are home to all five military ser­vices,” said Strycula, who said Fort Belvoir’s relationship with local communities is very im­portant.

“The majority of our families live, work, shop and raise their families in the local communi­­ties,” he said. Strycula also said that such events remind service mem­bers and their families that the communities they’ve pledged to defend are behind them.

“This year marks Fort Bel­voir’s 100th birthday, our cen­tennial anniversary, and I can­not think of a better way for us to celebrate than to be here on the birthday of the man with so much love for the city of Alex­andria than the original land­owner of much of the land for what is Fort Belvoir — George Washington,” he said.

Alexandria Mayor William Euille said it was only proper to express support for service members and their families in light of the sacrifices they make daily for the country. 

“They are at the battle lines each and every day, 24/7, taking care of us, our nation and our world, and it’s our responsibility to, in turn, turn the tides around and to let them know how much we appreciate and respect them and say thank you, thank you,” he said. 

Quantico Marine Corps base chief of staff Col. Roarke Anderson outlined the base’s three missions: combat development and integration, professional military education and live fire training. 

“That’s really the bread and butter of what we do,” he said of the live fire-training conducted at Quantico. “Without that live-fire training, we’d have to go someplace else. Quantico wouldn’t exist in its present form. So, we reach out to the community because the more you understand about what we do, the longer we can preserve that mission, and we certainly appreciate everything you do for us.” 

Prince William County Supervisor Marty Nohe, who signed the covenant on behalf of the county, said that Base Realignment and Closure helped to bring together the civilian and military worlds in the region. 

“I think that the BRAC process which our region has undergone the last few years has taught us about the important relationships that exist between our bases and our civilian world,” he said. 

Following the covenant signing, Alexandria celebrated Washington’s 280th birthday with its annual parade, which featured soldiers from Fort Belvoir, the Quantico Marine Corps base band, military vehicles and other entertainment. 

Military editor Julia LeDoux can be reached at 703-369-5718.