In 2020 the DoD enacted the Defense Community Infrastructure Program (DCIP) under the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to address deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation and its adjacent community. The program falls under the DoD’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC).
Each year, the program reviews proposals submitted by state or local governments or non-profit, member-owned utilities, that own projects proposed for DCIP funding. The proposals must support a community infrastructure project located off base and demonstrate that it will enhance the military value, resilience or military family quality of life at the local installation.
“Our program defines [installation resilience] as those attributes that are either man-made or based on the environment that may have an impact on the ability of the installation to operate or that endanger the mission,” said Daniel Glasson, OLDCC Deputy Director of Programs. “They could be climate-related or related to the infrastructure that a community has built over the past 30 years that now may not be as suitable to the environment or to the amount of population that’s using it.”
In the DCIP’s inaugural year, the DoD awarded $50 million towards proposals submitted that met the criteria for enhancing military family quality of life. Of the 109 submitted proposals, 16 were selected to receive funding.
The Warrior Challenge Course located near Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico was one of two Marine Corps proposals that was approved in 2020 and officially opened to the public on August 14, 2021. The project received $250,000 from the DCIP and $250,000 from Prince William County. The challenge course includes eight Ninja Warrior-style obstacles, children’s playground, outdoor gym, timed sprinting track and enhancements to remove accessibility barriers for those in wheelchairs.
The other approved project coming out of the Marine Corps is the reconstruction of the Jack Amyette Recreation Center at MCB Camp Lejeune, which received $1 million in funding. For over 60 years, the recreation center has served as a gathering place for the town of Jacksonville and hosted after school and community programs. The facility suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Florence in 2019 and its gymnasium has remained closed since.
“There are many reasons why the program wants to focus on community,” said Glasson. “If you look at the authorization for the DCIP, there’s a strong theme of resiliency. If we look at where installations are situated in the United States, it’s unmistakable the role that communities have in ensuring the resiliency of those local installations, be it related to the environment that they provide military service members and their families for living there or the infrastructure that they build that allows for that installation to operate and the resiliency of that installation.”
For the fiscal year 2021 (FY21) DCIP grant review, 13 project proposals were selected and approved to receive $60 million of appropriated funding. MCB Camp Pendleton was the only Marine Corps proposal that was selected and supports the construction of Fire Station 1 in the city of Oceanside, California. The city will receive $3.5 million to undertake an over $18 million project to construct the new fire station that supports emergency response resources provided to the base.
To be considered for funding, the local community must communicate with the installation or commander to discuss the project and ensure its ideal for both the base and the community. Additionally, requestors must submit a proposal for a plan that is shovel-ready, meaning the land included must be ready for development and that construction can begin within 12 months of grant award.
“One thing our office would like to communicate to communities who are looking at DCIP or are interested in the program, is that it really reflects the relationship that exists between local communities and their local installation,” said Glasson. “This should be a reflection of the priorities that communities are discussing with the installation to ensure that both can be successful with what they’re trying to do.”
For more information on the application process and program requirements, please visit the DCIP website at https://oldcc.gov/defense-community-infrastructure-program-dcip.