The Army will invest nearly $100 million to complete the transformation of a former development center in southern Indiana into the nation's premier urban warfare training site, state officials announced April 17.
Gov. Mitch Daniels and Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, adjutant general, announced a partnership with the Army that will fund upgrades to the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.
From now until 2012, the Army will invest $97.3 million to Muscatatuck's operation and enhancement. Officials expect 40,000 active, Guard and Reserve soldiers to eventually train there annually.
The site is a former residential development facility for adults with developmental disabilities, which closed in 2004 after 85 years. The Indiana Guard acquired the complex in July 2005 with the intention of turning it into an urban warfare training ground.
Muscatatuck has hosted exercises over the last two years but nothing like what is planned for the future, officials said.
"This is the day Major General Umbarger and I have been working toward for two years," the governor said. "Muscatatuck will now become a major contributor to our national security and a major contributor to the economy of southern Indiana."
The Indiana Guard will own and manage the facility, which has 70 buildings concentrated on 250 of its 1,000 acres simulating urban density.
The existing facilities, coupled with planned improvements, will provide soldiers with "an unequaled opportunity to train as we will fight," said Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Maffey, the training director for the Office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff.
Muscatatuck will continue to host training exercises during the transformation, including its largest ever this month.
Vigilant Guard, which is set for May 10 to 18, will gather 2,000 Guard soldiers from several states in a response to a mock terrorist detonation of a nuclear device.
© 2007 National Guard Association of the United States Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Source: National Guard
