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By Staff Sgt. Stephanie J. Cross
Louisiana Army and Air National Guard
HAMMOND, La. – The Louisiana National Guard's 61st Troop Command reached a new milestone as they officially opened their new state-of-the-art readiness center in Carville, La., Dec. 4., three years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their headquarters at Jackson Barracks in New Orleans.
"Moving into the new armory represents a significant milestone for the Soldiers of 61st Troop Command," said Lt. Col. John M. Wells, the unit's executive officer. "It highlights the diverse and changing mission of 61st into a headquarters capable of establishing a joint task force and providing assistance to the citizens of Louisiana before and during emergencies."
After operating from a makeshift command center shared with the 415th Military Intelligence Battalion, they now have a place they can call their own. The new building will be home to approximately 45 Soldiers of the 61st Troop Command.
"Our responsibility is to help get resources to units that are engaged in their local communities during a state of emergency," said Commander Col. Jordan T. Jones. "We want to ensure they have all the resources and assets they need to help the local governments."
Built by general contractor Walton Construction Company, LLC, architecture firm VOA Associates, Inc. and technical consulting firm Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., the $4.1 million armory is located at the Gillis W. Long Center. The 11,773 square-foot single-story brick building is equipped with several offices and an advanced emergency operation center with an overwatch room designed to provide command and control operations for military forces.
The center also provides an area for conducting periodic emergency training events and can house more than 80 personnel for 24-hour operations during large-scale emergencies.
"In my 20 years of business, I've never worked on a project where we have had 100 percent execution and we have accomplished that here because of the hard work of the Louisiana National Guard," remarked Chris L. Talley, manager of projects for Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. "From day one failure has never been an option and so far every project has been on time and within our budget and we have the Guard to thank for that."
"This has been a real partnership between the industry and the Guard," he continued. "We have civilian project managers working side-by-side with military project officers on every job and it has been a real team effort. It has been an honor to be involved in this program."
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Louisiana National Guard leaders focused on strategically repositioning units to best execute local community, state and federal missions.
"Learning from what happened at Jackson Barracks, we realized that 61st Troop Command should be located in the center of the state, closer to Baton Rouge, La., to provide a command and control node," said construction and facility management officer Lt. Col. Bill R. Aldridge of Alexandra, La. "The Gillis W. Long Center rose as the best possible location for the unit to support state and federal missions," he added.
The readiness center is one of approximately 16 projects in Louisiana funded after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to increase the ability of the National Guard to respond to future disasters.
| Date Taken: | 12.05.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 12.16.2008 11:19 |
| Story ID: | 27752 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 360 |
| Downloads: | 156 |
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