Eastern North Carolina leaders say the region must exploit its natural advantages and spark growth by adapting to change.

• Position: IN TRANSITION

Nearly 16,000 military and civilian workers will be added at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune and the New River and Cherry Point air stations by 2012. That could strengthen Eastern North Carolina's economy at the same time it taxes its infrastructure. So say panelists in a discussion of the region's economy sponsored by East Carolina University. Participating were Tom Eagar, CEO of the N.C. State Ports Authority; Valeria Lee, president of Golden LEAF, a Rocky Mount nonprofit that distributes proceeds from the state's share of the national tobacco settlement; Carol Lohr, executive director of Crystal Coast Tourism Authority in Morehead City; Dave McRae, president and CEO of University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina in Greenville; Ted Morris, associate vice chancellor for economic development at East Carolina; and David Jordan Whichard, chairman of the N.C. Economic Development Board. Arthur O. Murray BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA's managing editor for special projects, moderated the round table at ECU's Mendenhall Student Center in Greenville. Following is a transcript, edited for brevity and clarity.

How will the addition of troops and civilian workers at Eastern North Carolina's military bases affect the region?

Morris: There are a lot of nervous communities. They're asking ECU--and a lot of other partners--to help. We're looking at patterns of where new troops and workers at the bases have moved in the past, trying to extract trends and planning for infrastructure needs to house, accommodate and provide entire communities for those folks that are coming in.

Whichard: There are clearly a lot of challenges, with infrastructure among the top. For things like highways, we hope we can get help from the federal government.

Morris: It's easy to think about having to put in sewer and water capacity. It's a little more difficult to jump-start things like new schools and public-health infrastructure for soldiers and Marines that are deployed and returning. It will be a tremendous transformation, with major growing pains for the communities that absorb all those folks.

McRae: There is a significant impact on the health-care system. Pitt Memorial is a referral hospital. To use Onslow County as an example, there are more young people in that metropolitan area than any other. They have more babies that are low-birth weight and may not get prenatal care, and because of that they end up in our neonatal unit.

Lohr: Cherry Point is the top employer of Carteret County residents. There's always that advantage of having more jobs. As for housing and schools, we're just going to have to be flexible and accommodate those needs as they come.

Whichard: We're now beginning to focus on how, with this military presence, we can leverage that to bring defenserelated industries into North Carolina, in particular into Eastern North Carolina.

Eagar: Particularly at Fort Bragg, they are really pushing very hard to bring in more industry, whether it's consultants or something else. They've talked about optics, for example. They're interested in the R&D at the universities as well.

Lee: But we still don't have the civilian engagement that we need and should expect with that presence in North Carolina. About three years ago, we looked at that sector and determined that the aerospace industry was going to be one we should invest in. We put dollars into projects that would help small businesses get into manufacturing for the military. There are...