(Host) With members of the Vermont Army National Guard back from deployment to Afghanistan, they’re no doubt looking forward to the comforts of home.
For some of them, their Vermont training facilities may soon be more inviting as well.
VPR’s Amy Noyes has more on the Guard’s plans to replace its old armories with new "readiness centers."
(Noyes) The National Guard Armory in Morrisville was built for soldiers of a different era. It was constructed in the mid-1950s, and is a carbon copy of many other armories around Vermont. But the Vermont Guard recently changed from a tank brigade to infantry, and the armories have become outdated.
John Patry is the Guard’s construction and facilities management officer. He says it’s time the facilities changed to meet new needs.
(Patry) "The armor used to be parked in the yard, and now that it’s an infantry unit they have lots of personal armor that needs more space. And it’s a high technological outfit that each of the soldiers have, from the night vision goggles to the personal equipment that needs more special care and storage than the old stuff did."
(Noyes) The Guard recently finished an upgrade to the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho. Its next project will be building a Readiness Center and Field Maintenance Shop in North Hyde Park. The new facility will replace the Morrisville Armory, and consolidate field maintenance shops, in Lyndonville and St. Albans.
The Guard bought a 40-acre lot in North Hyde Park that’s half wooded and half pasture. It runs along Route 100 with views of the Green Mountains. Patry stands in the hilltop field and says the Guard intends to maintain as much of the natural beauty as possible.
(Patry) "The farmer a couple doors down mows this field and gets hay off it, so if we occupy as little a footprint here – we’ve looked at the forest land and that was quite well logged off a few years ago, and it would be, I think, less impact to put more of the facility over there and maybe put more of the parking there."
(Noyes) Patry said if all goes as planned, the construction project will begin in 2012.
Improving energy efficiency is another priority in replacing the old armories. Patry said the Guard is looking at locally sustainable energy sources, including biomass and wind.
Patry said the federally funded project is a good deal for the State. The state bought the land and the federal government pays for construction.
(Patry) "So, without having any bill, the State gains when it’s all built out, close to $20 million worth of new bricks and mortar assets. The only commitment that the state has after that, is that they promise to use it for National Guard purpose for 25 years."
(Noyes) That 25-year commitment isn’t expected to pose a problem. Once this project is complete, the next facility scheduled for replacement is the Bennington Armory, which has been around since 1924.
For VPR News, I’m Amy Noyes.