Fort Jackson to train 2,000 more soldiers annually, add 210 jobs

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Tribune News Service) — Fort Jackson will receive another training battalion in October 2017, according to post commanders, a move that would boost the post’s local economic impact and increase its value to the Army in the face of expected budget cuts. The battalion — consisting of about 500 additional soldiers during each 10-week basic training cycle — will bring with it 210 jobs from drill sergeants to support personnel. It will also swell the number of soldiers trained annually at the nation’s largest military training base to 46,000 in 2018 from 44,000 this year, according to Lt. Col. James Allen, the fort’s director of...