Three area armories cut in Mo. National Guard restructuring

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The Missouri National Guard said Monday that it expects to save millions of dollars by closing six armories as part of a plan to restructure operations.

The Guard said armory buildings in the Southeast Missouri towns of Bernie, Caruthersville, Charleston, along with ones in Neosho, Salem and St. Ann, will be closed beginning in December, leaving it with 57 armories scattered around the state.

Soldiers and units from the closed armory buildings will be moved to the nearest facility, and the buildings will be turned over to the state Office of Administration after they are vacated.

"We are closing some buildings. We are not closing units, and we are not losing soldiers," said Brig. Gen. Dennis Shull, Missouri's adjutant general.

Guard spokesman Dave Dillon said the armories targeted for closure generally were older, had higher operating costs and were not being used to their potential.

A March report by State Auditor Claire McCaskill recommended studying whether to close some armories. The audit noted that 15 armories had been built on or before 1945, that many were located close to others, and that the Guard planned to spend $33 million over eight years on maintenance if all the facilities remained open.

Response to audit

In a written response to the audit, the Guard said in March that "in the past, political sensitivities have not allowed closure options to be seriously considered. But in view of the current state financial challenges, such solutions may now be more feasible."

The armory closings should save about $85,000 in annual operating expenses, plus millions of dollars in needed maintenance and repairs, said Dillon, a captain in the Army National Guard who when not on military duty is the deputy director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

Dillon said the federal government would pay for construction of a new armory planned between Bernie and Dexter that will house the new dump-truck operating 880th Engineer Company. Also planned is the addition of a Reconnaissance and Decontamination Chemical Company at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. Other proposals under consideration could relocate several Guard units to new facilities at Fort Leonard Wood.

The changes stem from a nationwide reorganization directed in May by Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, the chief of the National Guard system. The intent is to bring Air and Army National Guard operations closer together.

Until recently, each of the 54 states and territories in the National Guard had three separate headquarters -- one for the Air Guard, one for the Army Guard and one for the "area command" run by the state's adjutant general. By Oct. 1, the three were to be consolidated into one, Blum said in May.

Shull said the state's Air and Army guard units now are being overseen by the new "Joint Forces Headquarters Missouri" located near Jefferson City.

Shull already had oversight of both the Army and Air National Guard, but the change means he now has three people reporting to him -- a chief of staff and separate leaders of the Army and Air National Guard -- instead of the roughly 15 people who previously reported to him, Dillon said.

The revamped leadership structure also should allow the Guard to respond more quickly.

"These changes to the Missouri National Guard are essential to enhance our readiness and capabilities for rapid action across a full spectrum of military operations to meet the military's needs to fight the global war on terrorism," Shull said in a statement.

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On the Net

Missouri National Guard: www.moguard.com