As North Florida’s single largest employer, the military presence in Jacksonville plays a significant role, not only in the survival of our local economy, but it is vital to our ability to recover from the strains of a deep recession. Area military installations include NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, Naval Aviation Depot Jacksonville, and Marine Corps Blount Island Command, not to mention Kings Bay Naval Base just up the road in St. Marys, Ga.
Economists estimate that these installations have a total economic impact of $6.1 billion annually. Yes, folks, that is $6.1 BILLION, which is roughly equivalent to hosting a Super Bowl every other week or having a Jacksonville Jazz Festival everyday for a year. NAS is our biggest employer with around 22,000 jobs — to put things in perspective, the second largest (our school system) has about 14,500.
In addition to the financial benefits, there are many other positives to being a military community.
Many of us have served or had a family member serve. However you are attached, it is hard not to feel the “power” of the military in our community. I saw a bumper sticker
yesterday that read “We are the land of the free because of the brave.” Truer words have not been written. Obviously, military personnel have a great sense of national pride and patriotism. Having so many of them close by helps the citizens of Jacksonville always remember the sacrifices they make for us. Last week, more people attended our Downtown and Beaches 4th of July fireworks displays than ever before. It makes you appreciate how important the role our soldiers play in our freedom.
Military men and women, enlisted or
officers, are solid citizens. They have to abide by state and local laws just as everyone else does as well as answer to a military tribunal for further possible punishment. The great majority of active military are married with children, making them family focused and grounded individuals. They are well compensated, particularly when they include the
benefits of having base privileges.
Another positive to having them nearby
is public safety. Who comes to our rescue time and time again in the event of natural
disasters? Americans always turn to our
military to assist in picking up the pieces from widespread property damage and
infrastructure complications. Thankfully,
we haven’t experienced anything worthy of military intervention but it is nice to have them in our own backyard.
As I mentioned, the financial implications of our military presence are vast and almost unfathomable. Over 50,000 active duty, reserve and civilians are employed with the military, roughly 6 percent of the area’s
workforce.
According to the City of Jacksonville, every year thousands of military men and women retire from the Armed Forces but choose to stay here in our area. As a result, the U.S. Census estimates that there are close to 90,000 veterans living in Jacksonville, not including the surrounding counties. In 2008, the Department of Defense spent $860 million in pensions and transfer payments to the Duval County resident military and civilian retirees and veterans.
To get a greater understanding of the impact of any part of our military presence, look at what the Virginia delegation is doing to keep all five of their aircraft carrier groups in Naval Station Norfolk. They are fighting tooth and nail in Congress to avoid losing just one aircraft carrier to us here at Mayport. They estimate it could cost their area 6,000 jobs, roughly $425 million in annual revenue and a great deal more when considering the economic impact.
These are all somewhat quantifiable facts and statistics related to our area’s economy as a whole. What has not been mentioned are the thousands of homes that have either been rented or purchased by these soldiers. A study done early this year forecasts that the direct residential real estate investment from the military and their employees will be around $1.2 billion in 2011. We would be hard-pressed to find a replacement of the kind of stimulus it provides our area.
Can you imagine your business or any business right now in this market operating without 50,000 gainfully employed citizens? It is hard to imagine the impact, but the presence of our military gives us a distinct advantage over many communities throughout the country. Next time you are focusing on how better to grow your business take into consideration our military marketplace.
You just might surprise yourself.
— Jim Bailey is publisher of
Realty/Builder Connection and president of Bailey Publishing and Communications Inc. He can be reached at [email protected].