As Colorado’s population has grown, so has the Colorado Army National Guard: Over the last 10 years, Colorado’s force strength has grown by 25 percent. To accommodate its growing number of Soldiers, the Colorado Army National Guard is constructing facilities at a total cost of $73 million over the next five years, as part of the Grow the Army initiative. 

Grow the Army is a transformation and restationing initiative announced in 2007 and scheduled for completion by 2013. The program goal is to grow the U.S. Army by almost 75,000 Soldiers. To that end, the National Guard formations of the 54 states and territories will be playing a prominent role – and Colorado seeks to be at the forefront with several new military construction (MILCON) projects.

Colorado Army National Guard Col. Ken Lull, Colorado Facilities Management officer, notes the National Guard makes up 50 percent of the total Army combat strength but receives only 10 percent of the budget. On the MILCON side the tale-of-the-tape is just as contrasting. The presidential budget for fiscal year 2011 requested $3.8 billion for the active-duty Army construction projects and $873.6 million for the National Guard; but this isn’t a case of big Army vs. little Army as much as it’s a statement about cost efficiency. Studies have found that the National Guard provides the required force structure for federal missions as well as the state’s mission of Defense Support of Civil Authorities here at home – for a fraction of what it would cost the active component.

Colorado’s role

It’s only natural that the National Guard in general, and Colorado in particular, would play such a significant role in the Grow the Army initiative. U.S. Census Bureau data shows Colorado is one of the fastest-growing states in the nation, with a population that has grown by a remarkable 34 percent over the last 20 years. As Colorado’s population has grown, so too has the Colorado Army National Guard (COARNG). To accommodate this expansion, the COARNG is constructing new facilities that will bring $61.2 million in federal revenue — not including state costs — over the course of the Grow the Army initiative.

The COARNG has 11 new facilities coming on line in the next several years, five of which are readiness centers being brought in as part of Grow the Army. They will bring a new or revamped presence to the cities of Grand Junction, Alamosa, Fort Lupton, Windsor and northern Colorado Springs. These new sites will provide state-of-the-art accommodations for Colorado’s long-established artillery formations as well as the recently-organized 1st Battalion, 157th Infantry Regiment.

A geographically-expansive state, Colorado covers more than 100,000-square miles with the Rocky Mountains making up the western half of the state. Most recent census data shows Colorado having a population just over 5 million. Despite its growth, Colorado is still considered sparsely populated given its overall area. Most urban areas within the state run along the Interstate-25 corridor that runs north to south through the foothills of the mountains, yet plenty of vibrant communities remain nestled among the tall peaks and plunging valleys of the Rockies.

With these considerations in mind, the stationing of new facilities also had to take into account several critical decision-making factors. Because the National Guard mission is to protect the nation and its states and territories, any potential environmental impact must be carefully weighed. This is balanced with a strong desire to maintain immediacy to populations who will be served in time of need and from whom the ranks of our Citizen-Soldiers are drawn. A facility must also have access to major transportation arteries, utilities and other infrastructure, as well as assurances the site will not occupy a flood plain or Superfund site.

Centered on readiness

While Grow the Army may be a federally-led effort, Colorado has its own significant role to play. If a proposed facility is on federal land, the federal government covers 100 percent of design and construction costs. However, states must provide 25 percent of the design and construction funding if the new facility resides on land the state has purchased at its sole cost. Where applicable, Colorado has not only eagerly met its obligations, it’s proved to be an advocate of inter-agency partnerships. Working with the Colorado General Assembly, funding for the state’s share of costs for many of the projects came through the Veterans Trust Fund and state Veteran’s leadership, allowing Colorado to proceed in an otherwise sensitive financial climate. In Grand Junction, the land acquisition was accomplished in coordination with the Colorado Department of Human Services. Funding from the Veteran’s Trust Fund covered the 25 percent state share for construction in Grand Junction as well as the land purchases in Windsor and Alamosa. This close cooperation with sister agencies is yielding impressive results allowing Colorado to expand its Army National Guard presence and provide local jobs in otherwise uncertain times. Moreover, the new facilities are not just a set of walls to drop off equipment between drills;  these are state-of-the-art facilities.

As with all military operations, a confluence of factors must be considered – including the environment in which the mission will take place. For Colorado’s mission of building new facilities, the operational environment includes sunshine – and lots of it – more than 200 sunny days by National Weather Service standards. While the state has big plans for traditional photovoltaic technologies, there are plenty of other ways to let the sunshine in. To capitalize on this abundant resource, the new facilities include items such as day-lighting devices. More than just skylights, these devices utilize opti-view diffusers to spread sunlight throughout an area. Solar walls catch heat from sunlight to pre-heat air before it’s sent to HVAC systems, thus reducing the loads required to keep the facility warm in winter months. In the summer, the air gap that is central to the solar wall technology helps catch heat and move it away from the building. Geo-thermal technologies are also used year-round to reduce the energy consumption of conventional HVAC systems.

All this comes together to enhance the working conditions for Soldiers and lower costs for facilities that are designed specifically for their tenant units. Rather than simply taking an existing structure and shoe-horning a unit into its available space, these new facilities seek to address the actual readiness for which the readiness center is intended to meet. Work bays and equipment stowage are always factors, but the new facilities also have abundant classroom space for training and mission planning, as well as new features such as rooms that allow Soldiers to train in computerized, simulated combat environments projected onto screens that register where rounds from training weapons are fired.

Then there’s the aesthetic side. The new facilities are designed to bring pride to the Soldiers who serve in them – and to the communities in which they reside. All this comes with negligible additional costs.

The scope of the project and its subsequent funding is based on the size and type of the unit that will take tenancy at the site. Once the space requirements are determined and funding threshold established, the design can go forward. However, Colorado expects big things from those who are contracted to design and build what are essentially the foundation of the COARNG’s future commitments to the state and nation.