Great Lakes Wire

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) announced that he secured nearly $26 million for the National Guard Bureau to modernize armories across Michigan to ensure they have adequate facilities for women service members. National Guard armories provide adequate space for troops to conduct trainings and carry out missions with access to the necessary equipment and logistical resources. While many armories were designed for an all-male force, women service members now make up nearly 18 percent of the Michigan Army National Guard.

Peters included a provision in the annual bill to fund the Department of Defense that directed the National Guard Bureau to allocate modernization funding to update armories for women facilities like showers, bathrooms and lactation rooms. In the most recent government funding bill, Peters secured an increase of $75 million in modernization funding – nearly $26 million of which will go toward upgrading Michigan’s military installations and helping start projects that are shovel-ready. Peters also led a call for the National Guard Bureau to match the $55 million allocated by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the State of Michigan for modernization efforts.

“Women service members must have access to equal and adequate facilities, and I’m pleased to have secured these federal resources to make that a reality,” said Senator Peters, a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. “When we modernize Michigan’s military facilities and invest in our troops, we send a clear signal that we support the entirety of our force and their ability to effectively carry out their missions.”

“The women who serve in the Michigan National Guard deserve access to facilities that meet their needs and allow them to focus on their training and missions,” said Governor Whitmer. “Thanks to Senator Peters’ advocacy, we have secured resources to modernize our military facilities for women service members, building on efforts we have made at the state level. Let’s keep working together to modernize our facilities and ensure the Michiganders who serve have what they need to get the job done.”

“We are grateful to Senator Peters for his leadership and efforts to secure critical resources for the modernization of our facilities,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “As more women join the Michigan Army National Guard, these new facilities are vital to make sure our troops feel supported and have the resources necessary to thrive and be mission-ready.”

The nearly $26 million in federal funding secured by Peters will allow for construction to begin at the following armories in Michigan:

• Alma: $940,000
• Alpena: $1,250,000
• Augusta: $1,330,000
• Bay City: $720,000
• Detroit Light Guard: $1,430,000
• Detroit Olympia: $2,280,000
• Grayling Bldg. 3: $945,000
• Jackson: $1,140,000
• Lapeer: $2,220,000
• Midland: $2,480,000
• Montague: $1,370,000
• Port Huron: $3,200,000
• Sault Ste. Marie: $3,850,000
• Taylor: $945,000

Original source can be found here