The Fayetteville metro area ranks fourth in the U.S. for per capita income growth from 2001 to 2006. Fayetteville’s metro area — defined as Cumberland and Hoke counties — saw personal income jump 37 percent from 2001 to 2006, the most recent year available in the data. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be behind the jumps in income, according to experts. Combat pay and re-enlistment bonuses for professional soldiers, combined with the activation of National Guard and Reserve units, put more money in the bank accounts of personnel shipping out of Fort Bragg, said David G. Lenze of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, which issued the income data.

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=293810

This is not companies making war profits, this is personal income. Not hard to imagine when re-enlistment bonuses are around 30,000.00 right no (for the hard-to-keep jobs or jobs that are difficult to maintain troop levels in the military). A friend of mine is a vehicle mechanic and just got 30,000.00 to re-enlist. They used the money for a down-payment on a house.