National Guard gets increased funding for facilities

By Air Force Lt. Col. Ellen Krenke
National Guard Bureau

(1/20/10) - Increased funding for National Guard facilities across the nation was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2010, enacted in December, Guard officials said today.

“While all reserve components received significant increases in funding above requested levels for military construction, the Army and Air National Guard received larger increases than any other Army or Air Force active or reserve component,” read a report from the National Guard’s legislative office.

The bill not only funds $555 million for 30 construction projects requested by the administration for the Army and Air National Guard, but also provides nearly $400 million in added funds for 73 additional projects nationwide.

The bill also included a unique "Guard and Reserve Initiative," which appropriates an extra $30 million each for the Army and Air National Guard to address urgent unfunded requirements.

In providing this additional pool of money for buildings and infrastructure, the appropriations committee explicitly noted "the critical contribution made by reserve component personnel to disaster assistance, homeland security, and national defense, including the burdens borne by the Guard and Reserve to support overseas contingency operations."

The National Guard Bureau has identified the following eight projects for use of the funds.

For the Army National Guard:

1. Owensboro, Ky. - Readiness center to replace an old facility with a failing foundation due to severe long-term groundwater infiltration - $10.5 million

2. Bangor, Maine - Regional Training Institute Phase 2 replacing WWII-era facilities - $15.5 million

3. Mead, Neb. - Water supply and distribution system updated and correctly sized - $2 million

4. Grafton, N.D. - Shoreline Stabilization Project to stop infrastructure erosion along the shores of the adjacent lake - $2 million

For the Air National Guard:

5. Peoria, Ill. - Squadron operations facility reconfigured for airlift - $10 million

6. Toledo, Ohio - Munitions storage complex for new air sovereignty alert mission - $12 million

7. Klamath Falls, Ore. - Security forces facility - $6 million

8. Fort Worth, Texas - Joint reserve base avionics/ECM shop addition - $2 million