CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind., - The grounds on one of the National Guard's premier national deployment centers at Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center are bustling with Soldiers and civilians preparing for deployment with what also seems to be a constant fixture here; back hoes, dump trucks, orange vests and hard hats, digging earth and paving new and improved additions to the installation.
Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck are both continuing development to provide theater immersion training and a contemporary operating environment to facilitate the most realistic training available today to our deploying service members and civilians.
Currently, close to 65 various construction projects, amounting to approximately $62 million of work for fiscal year 2010, are underway from erecting new buildings, paving roads and improving the existing infrastructures of Camp Atterbury, located in Edinburgh and Muscatatuck located in Butlerville. More requests for work are pouring in daily according to Camp Atterbury Deputy Director of Public Works Maj. Donald Heichel.
Additionally, the grounds at Camp Atterbury recently received 1,200 acre expansion through a land exchange agreement with the Department of Natural Resources and signed off by Gov. Mitch Daniels on Oct. 18th. The plans for initial construction would include eight barracks buildings, a dining facility, and expansion of the existing rail receiving and shipping facilities, all necessary to expand the capacity to house, feed and supply Soldiers during peak operational periods.
"It is extremely important that we grow at a pace that meets the soldiers' needs," said Heichel. "Soldiers are resilient and, like myself, have been trained to make the best out of the circumstances we are faced with. Our soldiers are our number one priority and we will do everything we can to meet their needs. 'Wants' and 'creature comforts' are a different topic altogether. Once soldier needs are identified, we project what it will take to meet the mission. If our maintenance and repair teams can meet the need, we use them. If it needs to be contracted, we seek additional guidance on a 'way ahead'.
Current projects include a new $12.2 million Department of Public Works building, a new $11.1 million dining facility and $2.4 million in road construction improvements at Camp Atterbury. Ongoing projects at Muscatatuck include close to $12.2 million in infrastructure upgrades to existing buildings and training aides to support the combined arms collective training facility concept. A few specific new sights at MUTC include a new soccer stadium replica, a collapsed garage, a cave, as well as a mosque.
Most of these contracts go to local vendors, keeping a tight bond with the installation's surrounding communities and stimulating the local economies.
"We reach out to local vendors who have been referred to as upstanding, community oriented people," said Heichel. "Our men and women in uniform, as well as the contractors who receive the winning bids, support the surrounding community by buying and selling local, keeping our jobs and resources in Indiana. These contractors have done a very nice job.
"If someone could turn the clock back ten years, and then take a snapshot of today, the improvement is remarkable. It is a great testimony to the work ethic that is instilled in Indiana construction personnel who strive to do their best, said Heichel"
Another testament to the commitment and dedication of the men and women who work to grow and improve the installation is the fact that they are Indiana National Guardsmen, many of whom live or grew up in close proximity to Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck.
"It's been a great working relationship," said Matt Alexander, estimator and contract manager for Dave O'Mara Construction, a local business located in North Vernon, Ind., for roughly 35 years. Dave O'Mara Contractors have completed and are working several projects with the Indiana National Guard including the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility at Muscatatuck and road reconstruction at Camp Atterbury. "Everybody knows that business is a little tight now because of the economy, everybody feels it including us. Anything that does go on that can stay local is really great. There's a lot of companies out there that are thankful for this," he said.
"Any job that you're a part of and see it completed, there's a lot of pride there. It makes it even better that we get to help these Soldiers train to be better at what they do," said Alexander.
Relatively a newer military installation, the Army National Guard's Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center arose from the fertile soil of central Indiana's spacious farmland roughly 70 years ago. Atterbury grew to capacity to train and deploy hundreds of thousands of Soldiers during World War II, only to fade away into obscurity.
When the fighting in Korea began less than a decade later, Camp Atterbury's unkempt buildings were repainted, windows replaced and overgrown vegetation cut away. The camp once again produced hundreds of thousands of soldiers for combat before again fading into history.
For roughly 50 years since, the post continues to be managed by the Indiana National Guard and used for training National Guard and Reserve Soldiers.
Just as the camp arose answering to attack against our nation in WWII, Atterbury is in full throttle again, reactivating in 2003 in response to the attacks on 9/11 and the Global War on Terrorism.
"We faced many challenges early on," said former installation commander Col. Kenneth Newlin. Newlin oversaw Camp Atterbury when it was again charged with training Soldiers to deploy to combat. Newlin said some of the challenges included were finding ways to feed thousands of Soldiers daily, provide heated buildings, obtaining the right quantity and sizes of gear, and other logistical issues.
Because Newlin and his staff made due, continued to grow and improve on the existing infrastructure, Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck are thriving and producing thousands of deploying civilians and servicemembers every year.
"Our success leading to where Camp Atterbury is today was based on the hard work and dedication of the soldiers mobilized in support of Camp Atterbury's mobilization mission," said Newlin. "I believe Atterbury will continue to grow in all aspects; size, facilities, training capabilities and relevance, maintaining its status as an enduring force generation platform."
Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck are geared to preparing servicemembers and civilians for deployment to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo.
"Expanding is what our nation has asked us to do," said Camp Atterbury Garrison commander Col. Todd Townsend. "Our missions at Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck are growing and in order to meet that we have these infrastructure expansions, upgrades and improvements we're undertaking.
"Fortunately we live in a great part of the country and in a great state that allows us to be able to do that. The incredible numbers of local contractors are able to bid on these local projects. It's very competitive bidding and pricing, allowing us to do a lot for the tax payer's money because of our locality," he said.
"The bottom line is that it's going to provide great facilities for the Soldiers of our United States," said Townsend.
As approval is pending for 2011's budget for growth, future plans for development are ongoing. As always, keeping a positive and beneficial relationship with the surrounding communities is a priority for Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck officials.