Monday, May 5, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert Hurt (R-Virginia) today toured the future site of the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) at Fort Pickett with Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia). On April 17th, the State Department announced that Fort Pickett, Virginia will be the location for the new FASTC to train U.S. diplomatic and government personnel assigned to high-threat posts around the world. After an extensive search for the best site, the State Department determined that Fort Pickett is the top location to meet the needs of this new facility, which will utilize the close proximity to the its Foreign Service Institute and intelligence agencies in Washington, D.C.
Following today's tour, Congressman Hurt said, "I was impressed with the facilities we saw today at Fort Pickett. The resources available at Fort Pickett will undoubtedly provide an ideal locale for the new Foreign Affairs Security Training Center, and I am pleased the Administration has decided to move forward with these plans, which will potentially lead to new jobs and new economic activity in Southside Virginia. I appreciate Senator Kaine's and Congressman Forbes' leadership on this issue, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as the training center progresses."
Senator Kaine added, "I appreciate our State Department, General Services Administration and Virginia Guard colleagues for helping with this project. Today was a great opportunity to get a feel for what the State Department's operation will be. Though we need to work through some budgetary issues, I was able to get a strong sense of what needs to be done and why Fort Pickett is the ideal location to provide the training that our embassy personnel and their families deserve."
Posts
