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Minnesota National Guard moving into new AHATS center by Kristine Goodrich Most of the unit presently is serving T he Minnesota National Guard in Kuwait and will return home this is moving into its new th million to build; it was funded by the U.S. Human Resources Readiness Center on the Arden Government as part of the Grow the Army Company, which provides personnel and Hills Army Training Site (AHATS). initiative. It is located north of the joint Meanwhile, construction is underway on County, City, and School District facility a new maintenance shop and construction north of Highway 96 on Hamline Avenue.number of soldiers serving in Kuwait and of a second Readiness Center is expected Afghanistan; they are expected to return to begin next winter. includes an assembly hall/cafeteria, AHATS is owned by the Army National kitchen, workout room, locker rooms, Guard and encompasses 1,560 acres of a teleconference room, simulation basement of Arden Hills City Hall. the 2,370-acre former Twin Cities Army training center, and several classrooms, Field Maintenance Shop future buildings are concentrated on 22,000-square feet of vehicle storage Next to the new Readiness Center, the southern 300 acres of AHATS; the adjoins the center. Our goal here is to construction has begun on a new Field remainder is open space used for training maneuvers. AHATS is used by National fully ready to serve, said Mary Lee, an facility will be the largest of its kind in the Guard Units throughout the metro area, AHATS representative. primarily on weekends. early 2013 and will cost approximately $29 th Also sometimes referred to as an armory, million. Soldiers from the 834 Support Readiness Center the center is the new home base for more Battalion will use the facility for training th than 200 soldiers in two National Guard and maintenance of equipment for the 34 Red Bull Infantry Division. in nearly 60 years. Construction began Company, which was formerly based in in spring 2010 and was substantially Austin, serves as the supply unit for the nd Battalion, 135th Infantry Regiment. plans to hold a grand opening celebration 2 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver standards; the are designed, built and operated to meet environmental and health objectives, such quality, and carbon dioxide emissions. Lee said the Armys commitment to protecting the environment also extends to the undeveloped portion of AHATS, where projects have included native prairie restoration. Were very conscientious about taking care of our resources, she said. Continued on page 5