National Guard unveils renovated armory

The local Georgia Army National Guard Readiness Center showed off its new renovations Thursday with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.

Dublin Mayor Joshua Kight, Councilman Bennie Jones, Councilwoman Sara Kolbie, Dublin Fire Chief Matthew Cutler and Dublin Police Chief Keith Moon, along with Maria Cook from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s office, were invited to the ribbon cutting. Brigadier Gen. Jason Fryman, commanding general of the Georgia Army National Guard, was the guest speaker for the event.

“Today is a momentous occasion as we gather to celebrate this newly renovated Dublin National Guard Armory,” Fryman said. “The ribboncutting ceremony that we will do here is culmination of months, if not years, of hard work, dedication and unwavering commitment of our shared vision.”

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, many of the Georgia Army National Guard units did not have dedicated armory facilities. The soldiers shared space in government buildings at county courthouses, churches and corrections facilities. Following World War II, there was a statewide effort to construct armories, along with providing better funding and resources.

“Our need for modern facilities remain at the utmost importance,” Fryman said. “Today, the Georgia Army National Guard is comprised of more than 11,300 members, supporting overseas and domestic missions from 67 different readiness centers just like this across 55 different counties.” 

Dublin has been home to the Georgia National Guard since 1890 when it formed the Dublin Light Infantry.Later, as the First Battalion 121st, it landed in Normandy and went east through Germany.

“It was recognized and awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, the highest unit citation for their actions during the Battle of the Bulge,” Fryman said. “There is a lot of unit history here. I think another thing to highlight is the fact that we have a logistics and a transportation element here that played a central role in our response to Hurricane Helene.”

The location to I-16 also helped them with their response to getting commodities into the community during last fall’s hurricane cleanup. Fryman thanked Gov. Brian Kemp and the state House and Senate appropriations committees for what they did for the renovations.

“Today as we cut the ribbon and open the doors for the recently renovated armory, we honor the legacy of those Dublin guardsmen – the men and women who came before us,” Fryman said. “This armory will be one of many who serves as a testament to the hard work and valor of the soldiers who came before as well as our current and future generation of soldiers who will proudly carry on their success and traditions.”

He also thanked the support from businesses and people in the Dublin community.

“Our Georgia National Guard family is truly grateful for your steadfast support,” Fryman said. “This armory stands as a symbol to the strong bond we have between our National Guard and this community. A bond that ensures that our citizen soldiers has the support that they need to carry on our local and global missions.” 

The Dublin Readiness Center, which is the home of Alpha Company, 148th Brigade Support Battalion, 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, is located at 910 Telfair St. The building was constructed in the 1950s and previously renovated in 2010. The facility is on 4.65 acres. The soldier strength at the facility is 106, including three full-time unit staff.

“Over the years, this armory has hosted a variety of events including circuses, dances, wrestling matches, antique shows and concerts,” said Capt. Jason Williams. “The armory’s roll … has served as a hub for various cultural and social events over the decades.”

According to information provided Thursday, the renovation included the facility modernization to meet unit needs and improve soldier quality of life. These items include renovation to existing men’s latrine, construction of a new women’s latrine, addition of a lactation room, interior finish upgrades to include new flooring, paint and interior LED light fixtures.

The renovation included the repaving of the private owned vehicle parking area with new striping and parking spaces, construction of a 2,500 square foot single story multi-purpose building, installation of a new HVAC unit for latrine and classrooms areas and the installation of a new flagpole and landscaping. Total cost was $4 million with $2 million from the federal and $2 million from the state. 

The project leaders were LS3P (architectural firm), Johnson Laux Construction (contractor), Darrell Wilson (CFMO construction project manager) and CW2 Jeremy Webb (CFMO design engineer). 

Following the ribbon cutting, everyone was invited for a tour of the renovations before being served refreshments.

“We really appreciate everything the National Guard Army has brought to Dublin,” Kight said. “We saw how important that was, especially during the Hurricane Helene response and the assets they were able to deliver to our area and the surrounding communities. Today was a great opportunity to see how they continue to invest in our community and continue to bring even more resources to our town and serve not just Dublin but the surrounding communities as well.” 

Kight was happy with the renovations. He was pleased with the amount of money they committed to the National Guard Armory.

“The capabilities they have added to the armory are going to allow it to have even greater benefits to our community,” he said. “Everything from the network operation center, to the renovated training bay to the additional multipurpose building shows how important Dublin is to our entire Middle Georgia region.”