(Enlarge) Col. Edward C. Rothstein, Garrison Commander

Last week I was the speaker at the BWI Business Partnership Breakfast. It was an opportunity for me to continue fostering strong relationships with our region's community, government and business leaders.

These meetings provide a forum where we can increase awareness of how our partners outside the gates can help us and how we can support their initiatives.

One of the areas I discussed was the growing "footprint" of Fort Meade. It was a discussion that goes beyond the recent completion of the Base Realignment and Closure legislation that brought the Defense Information Systems Agency headquarters, Defense Media Activity and the Defense Adjudication Activities to Fort Meade.

I talked about how Fort Meade will continue to experience growth in our near future as the installation supports the establishment of the U.S. Cyber Command. Several joint services support U.S. Cyber Command: Army Cyber, Air Force Cyber, the Tenth Fleet Navy Cyber and Marine Corps Cyber Command. They will all need to establish their presence at Fort Meade.

All total, these cyber commands will add several thousand jobs to our installation population. Many of these new jobs are highly technical positions that will continue to enhance Fort Meade's image as the nation's preeminent center for information, intelligence and cyber.

But as we all know, this kind of growth also means added stress on our infrastructure, from our electrical grid to the roads, intersections and access control points onto the installation. This growth will also put more demands on the roads that surround the post.

And just like we did throughout the BRAC process, Fort Meade will continue to look for ways to partner with local, county, state and federal agencies as well as private and civic organizations to help us prepare and support growth.

Looking beyond Cyber Command, I talked a little about future expansion plans regarding the National Security Agency and the Defense Information School. There are also plans to build a new AAFES Post Exchange and gas station/Shoppette on post. Groundbreakings for these projects are scheduled for this summer.

I also briefly discussed our efforts to look at ways to improve and increase privatized housing on Fort Meade and the creation of a resiliency center for our service members and their families.

It was a good meeting that provided a great forum for discussing the strength and well-being of the entire Fort Meade region.

I try to not let sports interfere with my duties as garrison commander, but many of you know I am a New York Giants fan. So please allow me to share some sporting news with you this week.

I just want you all to know that I think the NFC Conference Championship game this past Sunday was a great game for Giant fans at Fort Meade. The Giants played one of their best games ever on a wet surface and a windy day.

Although I really wanted to see a Giants vs. Ravens Super Bowl, it was not in the cards. So therefore, I ask for your continued support as the Giants take down that team from New England.

If you have a good idea, an issue or concern, share your thoughts with Garrison Commander Col. Edward C. Rothstein. Fort Meade garrison leaders are available to meet on Mondays from 4 to 6 p.m. at garrison headquarters in Hodges Hall, Bldg. 4551, Llewellyn Avenue. For more information, call 301-677-4844.