Alternative Uses Likely For Closing National Guard Armories

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Fifty-three Oklahoma National Guard armories that would be abandoned under a proposed realignment plan will likely be turned over to local governments or state agencies that will find new uses for them, Oklahomas adjutant general said Thursday.

Maj. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III said the National Guard plans to pull out of the armories as well as six maintenance facilities across the state as part of a plan to make the Guard more efficient and bring military training and equipment more in line with active-duty and reserve personnel.

But armories the National Guard will no longer use will not necessarily be shuttered and locked up, Wyatt said.

"We are not closing any of these armories," he said. "What I think is a better word than closing is transitioning. These are facilities that will not disappear."

Many armories, including some built in the 1930s and 40s, are functionally obsolete and the cost of upgrading them is prohibitive, Wyatt said. The National Guard is maintaining armories in 10 communities that are no longer used, including those in Blackwell, Pawnee, Watonga, Konowa and Hartshorne.

Some armories will be returned to local governments that originally deeded the land for them. Others could be sold or turned over to state and county governments for a variety of purposes, including economic development, Wyatt said.

"Weve already had inquiries from some of our local communities," Wyatt said. He said many local leaders and groups are already developing ideas about how to use the structures.

The realignment plan calls for construction of seven new Armed Forces Reserve Centers across the state and would leave the state with a total of 39 National Guard armories and reserve centers.

More...