Quantico, Prince William sign increased IGSA partnership for public works

Quantico Marine Corps Base will tap on the shoulder of its neighbor, Prince William County, for help around the military installation.

On Monday, November 7, Quantico’s Commanding Officer, Col. Michael Brooks, met with Potomac District Supervisor Andrea Bailey to sign an amendment to an Intergovernmental Support Agreement between the base and the Board of County Supervisors.

The amendment will increase the base’s spending limits beyond the originally agreed upon $5 million, allowing Prince William County to send in more crews to help the base maintain its roads, landscaping, and water pipes. The partnership means the projects on the base will be completed sooner than later, allowing most work to proceed without waiting for the more extensive federal procurement process.

In the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress authorized the military to enter into Agreements (“Intergovernmental Support Agreements”) with state and local government units to procure goods and services needed to sustain installation operations.

Quantico and other Marine Corps installations have embraced that new authority. They are using it to build better working relationships with local communities surrounding their installations, and, in doing so, they have found new ways to save time and money.

“The IGSA is critical because it helps us build better working relationships with our local communities, it provides federal funds to the county, helps ensure continued base operations and recovery after severe weather/natural events, and improves our mission readiness in a way that saves both time and money,” said Quantico Marine Corps Base spokesman Capt. Michael Curtis in October.

Later, the Marine Corps base tapped Prince William County for help clearing downed trees following a crippling snowstorm on January 3, 2022. The county’s partnership with the base began when the county repaired a storm pipe near the base’s main entrance. The clearing took about a month to complete.

Last month, Quantico Commander Col. Michael Brooks outlined multiple public works projects, including a new childcare center, wargaming center, water treatment plant, fire station, and a new bridge over the Amtrak / Virginia Railway Express station on base.

Last year, the base was home to 5,000 refugees from Afghanistan following the pullout of U.S. troops from the war-torn country.

There are about 26,000 people who serve and work at Quantico in 27 tenant commands, from Officers Candidate School, which trains new officers, to weapons training, cyber operations, the Marine Corps Air Facility, and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), supporting nearly 46,000 jobs.

Overall, Quantico injects $5.88 billion into the region’s economy. The base considers the counties of Fairfax, Fauquier, Prince William, Stafford, Spotsylvania, and the cities of Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park in its economic region of influence.