Army Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O'Reilly, Missile Defense Agency director, officiated at a ribbon cutting ceremony today marking the grand opening of the Von Braun III facility on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala. The 839,873 square foot facility has office space to accommodate 2,649 positions and is the largest single building on Redstone Arsenal.

"This is a historic milestone in the history of the Missile Defense Agency," said O'Reilly. "This building is the hub of missile defense for our nation and is tied to other time zones around the world where our missile defense personnel work every day in delivering this capability not only for us, but in cooperation and partnership with our friends and allies around the world."

Other participants in today's ribbon cutting ceremony included Mr. John H. James, Jr., MDA Executive Director, Air Force Maj. Gen. Terrence Feehan, MDA Program Executive for Programs and Integration, Army Maj. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, Commander, South Atlantic Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and representatives from U.S. Senator Richard Shelby's office and from the offices of U.S. Representatives Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt. Also in attendance today was Army Lt. Gen. Richard P. Formica, Commander, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command.

The VBIII facility is a part of the Von Braun Complex and includes 750,000 square feet of administrative space, an 800 seat auditorium, a cafeteria, and a fitness center. The building was constructed by Archer Western Contractors, Ltd., headquartered in Atlanta under the oversight of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The VBIII facility also houses the 2,248 MDA positions that were realigned from the Washington, D.C. area as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) legislation. In August, the MDA held a ceremony which marked the official opening of the MDA Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Va. All MDA BRAC moves and requirements were completed on Sept. 15, 2011 as required by law.