Photo By Sgt. Beyonka Joseph | Louisiana National Guard Brig. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis and the official party prepares to...... read more read more
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SLIDELL, La. — The Louisiana National Guard officially opened its new multi-million dollar Unit Training Equipment Site during a ribbon cutting ceremony at Camp Villere in Slidell, La., April 8.
"I would like to thank everyone who was involved with this project. There were a lot of people involved, and they all played a major role that ended with us being here to celebrate this day," said Brig. Gen. Glenn H. Curtis, director of the joint staff.
The new facility is a consolidation of Field Maintenance Shops 12 and 13, and UTES, which are three older shops that were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. The new maintenance shop will house approximately 24 federal technicians throughout the work week and will also support eight local units, with vehicles ranging from Humvees to howitzers, during annual training and drill weekends.
"This is another great day for Slidell," said Slidell Mayor Ben O. Morris. "The Louisiana National Guard has been a big factor in our community. They have helped us in numerous projects and this new facility is just another great sign of the recovery effort here in Slidell and St. Tammany Parish."
"This facility will certainly bring in more jobs to the area and bring more Soldiers in, which I am glad to have, being a retired Soldier," added Morris.
"This facility is a huge leap forward compared to the buildings that we were working out of before," said 1st Lt. Joachim J. Fernandez, facility owning commander and shop chief service maintenance supervisor. "This shop gives us greater potential for the things that we can accomplish and has also helped to boost the morale of the Soldiers."
Built by Lincoln Builders, Inc., headquartered in Ruston, La., and Chenevert Architects of Baton Rouge, La., the 31,241-square-foot maintenance shop is designed to house and manage equipment to uphold the standard regulations of the National Guard in order to facilitate readiness, and is centrally located to help support units during emergencies and disasters.
"We designed this building to allow the Soldiers to be able to do more in-house operations and to be able to support units during emergency situations," said Construction and Facility Management Officer Capt. Kevin S. Middleton, project officer.
It consists of five work bays, with one inspection bay, administrative space, expansive storage for tools and supplies, educational classroom space and a fitness center. Each bay is serviced by a multi-functional service rack that includes connection to a central oil and grease distribution system, a central compressed air system and multi-voltage electrical connections with intranet at each workstation, allowing mechanics access to the latest electronic manuals available.
"The whole layout of the new building is nicer and better equipped," said Sgt. Travis E. Badon, a full-time mechanic and a member of the 1084th Transportation Company. "This building helps us deliver faster services."
The $14 million facility also includes a 1,744-square-foot unheated storage building which contains a hazardous waste room and a flammable materials room.
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2009 09:36 |
| Story ID: | 32194 |
| Location: | SLIDELL, US |
| Web Views: | 560 |
| Downloads: | 353 |
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