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Byrd Announces Stimulus Funding For WV National Guard Facilities 

3/20/2009 

Washington, DC – Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., today announced that two National Guard units in the State of West Virginia will receive $7.6 million for construction projects as part of the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA) of 2009.

 

The $7.6 million in funding is part of the Military Construction component of the AARA and will be used for the following two projects:

 

-- Army National Guard will receive $3.3 million for a Readiness Center Addition/Alteration at Gassaway.

 

The $3.3 million dollar addition and alteration at the Gassaway Armory is being built for a newly organized Military Police Battalion Headquarters and will include a complete upgrade to the existing armory constructed in the 1960s.  The addition will increase the size of the facility by 8,500 square feet and will include an expansion and upgrade of utilities as well as provide emergency backup power.  The project will incorporate additional paved parking; physical security measures; and cost effective energy conservation features.  Not only is it a National Guard Armory but it is also a central part of the local community.  It is home to athletic events and various other functions are held there each year; and 

 

-- Air National Guard will receive a total of $4.3 million for a C-5 Avionics Shop at Eastern West Virginia Regional Airport in Martinsburg.

 

The $4.3 million dollar C-5 Avionics Shop at the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg will be a 12,500 square foot facility used for the repair and testing of C-5 navigation equipment.  Completion of this project will reintegrate critical maintenance facilities, which were separated during initial construction of the C-5 hangar complex.

 

“With these improvements, these facilities will be better able to serve the federal mission of unit training and mobilizations and the West Virginia state mission of being a base of operations in state emergencies,” said Byrd.

 

In addition to the construction projects, the stimulus includes $1.135 million for facility repairs and energy improvements at the Charleston, Bridgeport, and Mercer County Army National Guard installations.