Fort Bragg Adds a Fence to Its Defense List

Fort Bragg leaders are looking toward Capitol Hill for some help to close off the post when the threat of terrorism is high.

Leaders at the base have wanted to put up a security fence for years, but could not get the funding approved until this year. The full House and Senate have given the go ahead, and construction should begin within the year.

The chain link fence will cost $8.3 million, and will stretch 21 miles and include up to 20 gates.

Fort Bragg is home to some of our nations most elite forces. Army officials and federal legislators want to make sure they are better protected during terrorist threats.

"We've got to make sure that the force of choice or the premier contingency forces that our nation uses are not at risk, because it would severely hamper our efforts to quickly respond literally anywhere in the world," U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre said.

Even the corps headquarters had unrestricted access, at least until a security fence was put up a few weeks ago.

"With unrestricted access, it would be far too easy for something unfortunate to happen," McIntyre said. "We've seen this type of thing happen overseas, like in Beruit a few years ago when several of our Marines lost their life in the barracks. We certainly do not want to allow anything like that to happen on American soil."