Though it is home on a daily basis to thousands of soldiers, the secret to Fort Stewart’s success resides out its gates, its garrison commander said.

Col. Manny Ramirez, the Fort Stewart garrison commander, praised the civilians who work on the sprawling installation and the civilians in the neighboring communities who support the soldiers and their families.

“We couldn’t do our jobs without having you in our lives,” he said at the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce’s Progress Through People luncheon last Thursday. “You guys are what makes Fort Stewart special. So thank you very much for supporting us.”

Ramirez has nearly 3,600 civilian employees under his command. For many, he said, working at Fort Stewart is a family tradition.

“It is a family legacy. I have several generations who work out there,” he said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without them. Commanders come and go, but civilians stay. It’s really civilians who run the entire show.”

Fort Stewart has won the Army Community of Excellence so many times — seven — that a “Fort Stewart rule” was put in place, Col. Ramirez said, allowing the base to enter only every other year.

Even with that, the Coastal Georgia area was recognized as a Great American Defense Community in 2021.

“That speaks to your support,” Col. Ramirez said. “That speaks to what you guys do for us and what we can do for you.”

Col. Ramirez said Hinesville is the most military city in the U.S., with about 20% of its population in the military. And that doesn’t include the number of veterans, retirees and Department of the Army civilians.

The community support again was tested last year, when the 1st Brigade Combat Team was sent hurriedly to Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For the 1st Brigade soldiers and their families, those troops had been home only a few months after a nine-month stint in the Republic of Korea.

Gen. James McConville, the Chief of Staff of the Army, had the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade as his top pick to go. He called 3rd ID commander Maj. Gen. Charles Costanza asking if the brigade could be ready to go.

“Gen. Costanza got a phone call from the Chief of Staff of the Army. So when (he) calls, Gen. Costanza answers,” Col. Ramirez said.

The brigade was out on the vast post’s gunnery ranges at the time. Ideally, Col. Ramirez pointed out, units get 12 months back at home before being sent somewhere again.

“It was a very difficult decision,” he said, “but that’s what we get paid to do. We had to go over there and reassure our NATO partners. We were able to send those guys out there on almost no notice and within a week, 1st Brigade was gone.

“The support we received from the Hinesville community and Liberty County was absolutely outstanding,” Col. Ramirez continued. “We appreciate what you guys have done for us.”

As garrison commander, Col. Ramirez also oversees an operation that provides 180 services for soldiers and families — “at the low, low price of free,” he said — along with three elementary schools, seven child development centers and 280,000 acres with the single purpose of getting troops, active duty, National Guard and reservists, ready for whatever they are called upon to do.

The installation, the largest in size east of the Mississippi River (Fort Bragg in North Carolina has more soldiers stationed there but does not cover the expanse Fort Stewart does), also boasts top-notch hunting and fishing areas, the No. 1 bowling alley in the Department of the Army and an unrivaled prescribed burn program, Col. Ramirez pointed out.

“We have the best prescribed burn program in the entire Department of Defense,” he said. “We haven’t had to stop a training event in 23 years because of the controlled burn program.”

The base also has a $4.5 billion annual economic impact, second only to the ports in the Coastal Empire. Its services also support almost 120,000 people, from soldiers, families, retirees, veterans and civilians.

While on-post housing enables several thousand soldiers and their family members to live on the installation, the vast majority — 70% — make their homes outside Fort Stewart’s boundaries.

While changes in duty stations are commonplace this summer, there are more changes than usual scheduled in the next few months.

More than 4,000 Fort Stewart soldiers will be headed to Europe this summer for a rotation — and they will take with them a new commanding general.

The 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Division Headquarters and elements of the 3rd Sustainment Brigade received orders in March they were headed to Germany. The 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Hunter Army Airfield, has deployed to Europe.

The 3rd Infantry Division routinely has two deputy commanding generals, and one is expected to remain back at Fort Stewart during the deployment.

The 3rd ID is expected to get a new commanding general, but he will be going with the division headquarters to Europe for the deployment.

“We still will have senior representation here,” Col. Ramirez said.

The 2nd Brigade is testing out its new equipment — from the latest versions of Abrams main battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to a vehicle that is replacing the venerable Humvee — at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif.

The 1st Brigade is next to get the new vehicles and equipment and will put it to the test.

“After this summer, we will be the most modern and lethal division in the U.S. Army,” Col. Ramirez said. “We’ll be the most modern division in the Army. We’ll be the iPhone 14 of the Army.”

In the meantime, life at Fort Stewart will continue. Some 3,000 soldiers annually leave the military at Fort Stewart. Many go elsewhere but for those who remain in the Coastal Empire, a sizable portion of them will need jobs, Col. Ramirez noted. He asked the community to work with the Army’s transition services to help them get settled in a new civilian life and occupation.

Col. Ramirez, who will leave his post in August, his 12th move in 25 years, also said the community can continue to help by sharing the Army’s story. The Army has fallen short of its recruiting goals, and only about 17% of the current 18 to 21-year-olds in the nation are eligible for service.

“A lot of people don’t know what the Army is all about. And the training is provided for by the Army for the low, low price of free,” he said.

Job opportunities for spouses also are important, Col. Ramirez said, and the constant moving sometimes makes a spouse’s resume’ a little different.

“We do live a transitory lifestyle,” he said. “You’re going to see gaps in resumes. All I ask is to acknowledge them and recognize that to us, that’s normal.”

The Liberty County School System has five military flagship schools, which means those schools recognize and embrace the challenges and needs of military kids. Col. Ramirez even said he’d lost count of how many different schools his kids have attended.

But he offered his gratitude to the community for its continued support of the soldiers at Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield and their families.

“Thank each and every one of you for the support you provide,” he said, “not only to the installation but to the Army as a whole.”