5 things to know about the Fort Polk decision

Army officials are expected to announce Thursday where they plan to cut 40,000 personnel.

Fort Polk was one of the bases targeted for potential cuts, though sources have confirmed the base will only experience minor losses.

Here are a few things to know ahead of the announcement Thursday:

1 This is not a potential base closure

The Army is eliminating personnel at this time, not facilities. It is under a mandate to reduce its force from about 490,000 to about 450,000.

In the worst-case scenario, Fort Polk could have lost about 6.500 of its military population of more than 10,000. It appears the base will lose only 388 troops.

2 The loss of 6,500 troops would have been a BIG deal

If Army officials had decided to eliminate the brigade stationed at Fort Polk, the effects could have been devastating.

By payroll, Fort Polk is the largest non-governmental employer in the state. An economic impact study theorized that the potential troop reduction would result in losses of more than 9,000 jobs and annual losses of $468 million in income, $731 million in sales and $25 million in state and local taxes.

The brunt of the loss would have been borne by Vernon Parish, with Beauregard following behind, but all of Central Louisiana would have felt the pain.

3 A second round of cuts could follow

Even though Fort Polk appears to have escaped in the announced cuts this week, the base could still be targeted in the near future.

Army officials have to cut 40,000 troops. That was the immediate threat.

If a budget deal is not reached at the federal level and across-the-board spending cuts known as "sequestration" are triggered, an additional 30,000 Army personnel will have to be eliminated.

4 Stakeholders have been confident heading into this week's announcement

Many of the people who have been most involved in the effort to support Fort Polk through this potential crisis have been optimistic Army officials would look elsewhere to make this round of cuts.

The arguments made about the base's military value, they feel, are rock-solid.

A second round of cuts triggered by sequestration is what really scares them. Fort Polk has little chance to escape that unscathed.

5 Regardless of the decision, Fort Polk isn't going anywhere

The military will likely have to go through another round of base closures after 2016, but Fort Polk is almost certainly safe in such a process.

The base is home to the Joint Readiness Training Center, one of the premier training facilities in the country. As long as the Army has troops it needs to keep sharp and train in the latest doctrine, it needs the JRTC.

In fact, future base closures could benefit Fort Polk. The base can support at least one more brigade without needing costly new construction projects, stakeholders say, making it a potential new home for units whose home bases are eliminated.