06.30.15

Hoeven, Guard Break Ground for North Dakota National Guard Maintenance Shops

Senator Secured Funding for New Guard Facilities

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today joined Guard members and state and local officials at the groundbreaking ceremony for two new North Dakota National Guard (NDNG) facilities in Valley City.

Last year, Senator Hoeven visited the current facility and reviewed plans for the new one. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, he worked to ensure that $10.8 million of the $13 million cost of the facilities was included in the 2015 defense appropriations bill. The Guard will use the new facilities for repair and maintenance work for combat and tactical vehicles, and also for training and administrative work.

“The men and women of North Dakota’s National Guard are dedicated to service and to keeping us safe,” Hoeven said. “When disaster strikes or the nation calls, we can count on them to be there for us, so we need to give them the tools they need to do their job. These new maintenance shops will be a big help to them.”

The current shop, which was built in 1960, is a little over 3,200 square feet and could not accommodate the Guard’s 180 vehicles including Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks which the 231st Brigade Support Battalion added in 2008. The two new facilities will be more than 45,000 square feet and are designed to last a minimum of 50 years. The new facilities are scheduled to be completed by July 2017.

 

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