Photo By Maj. Jesse Manzano | Departing Command Sgt. Maj. Enrique Mendez, command sergeant major for the 50th...... read more read more
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MIAMI - After a year and a half of major renovations, the members of the 260th Military Intelligence Company and the 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat are returning to their home in downtown Miami. In a brief ribbon cutting ceremony held outside the Ballard Armory Saturday morning, the Assistant Adjutant General for the Florida Army National Guard (FLARNG), Col. Perry Hagaman, and other distinguished guests, joined Soldiers of both units during their return celebration.
“This project is about a partnership between Miami, our neighbors, the Florida Guard and its Soldiers,” said Hagaman, during his remarks. Originally built in 1979, the Ballard Armory has been home to the military intelligence and infantry battalions for over 36 years. However, in the coming months, the infantry units will be relocated to a new armory under construction in Broward County and only the military intelligence companies will remain at Ballard, alongside a recruitment office.
The renovated facility now includes three full-sized classrooms with capacity for 100 Soldiers, a language lab and a language instruction room, as well as interview rooms for individual training. In addition to this, the facility now also has a dedicated Emergency Operations Center that will allow the FLARNG in South Florida to provide command and control for any type of defense support of civil authorities’ missions.
“We are excited about the new facility,” said Sgt. Elih DePaula, a mechanic with the 260th MI Battalion. “Now, when we walk into this new, more spacious building, it helps build up everyone’s morale.”
The $3.5 million invested in the Ballard Armory is part of the Florida National Guard’s Florida Amory Revitalization Program (FARP), a 12-year partnership with Governor Rick Scott, the Legislature and local communities, and is one of the largest in the history of the program, according to Lt. Col. Mark Widener, the FLNG’s Construction and Facilities Manager Officer. To date, the FARP has funded renovations for 48 Armories throughout the state, and the program’s goal is to revitalize all armories in Florida by 2018.
| Date Taken: | 07.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2015 10:54 |
| Story ID: | 170065 |
| Location: | MIAMI, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 291 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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