Photo By 1st Lt. Desmond Jones | Mississippi National Guard leaders who contributed to facility expansion along with...... read more read more
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Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, in coordination with U.S. Congressman Steven Palazzo, hosted a Groundbreaking Ceremony to celebrate the approved expansion of the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center’s Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site (MATES) Friday, Oct. 14, 2022.
“Mississippi has a great reputation nationally, especially with the active-duty force, about the kind of work we do here,” said Boyles. “We have a lot of talent here, but we need a building to match the talent, and that’s what we’re celebrating today.”
The MSNG’s MATES facility is a premier strategic military asset for our state and an instrumental military force multiplier for our nation. The MATES is responsible for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of more than 1,000 pieces of equipment for national guard units in Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
The original facility was established in 1984 to provide expert repair, equipment staging, and sustained equipment lifecycle maintenance for an elite package of military vehicles including Bradley Fighting Vehicle Systems, Abrams battle tanks, Paladin Howitzers, Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicles and Engineer heavy equipment used for construction, route clearance, and the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield.
Palazzo, representing Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District, was instrumental in moving this project forward from a needed resource to a reality, by securing federal funds in the sum of approximately $15.5 million.
“The money was well spent because it’s going to help with basically providing for our national security,” said Palazzo. “It’s also going to attract new units to come here to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, which means we’re going to create even more jobs.”
The MATES facility at Camp Shelby plays an important part in sustaining today’s warfighter for tomorrow’s missions. As our warfighters face new missions, the military equipment is adapted and modernized, then fielded to the force for use on diverse and challenging battlefields.
“The new vehicles that are coming in, you’ve got to be able to operate them differently than we do in the current facility,” said Col. Rick Weaver, commander of Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center. “The expansion is going to allow us additional square footage and height to complete the required repairs on new equipment.”
In total, the MATES facility at Camp Shelby has successfully supported the repair of more than 10,000 pieces of supported and installation equipment while saving taxpayers over $2.4 million in equipment sustainability and repair costs. The new renovations will provide more than 52,000 square feet of operational space to support timely and precise maintenance requirements. The MATES expansion project will provide vital maintenance and repair support to two Heavy Brigade Combat Teams ensuring today’s warfighters have the reliable equipment to sustain critical movement in theaters of operation around the world.
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.05.2023 11:15 |
| Story ID: | 441981 |
| Location: | CAMP SHELBY, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 455 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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