Utah National Guard opens readiness center

SALT LAKE CITY — Over the years, the members of the Utah National Guard's 142nd Military Intelligence Battalion have been bounced from Ogden to Draper to Camp Williams, moving out to make way for more equipment-intensive units that require the extra space.

That nomadic existence came to a close with the recent opening of the $12 million Salt Lake Readiness Center, which will be home to that unit as well as members of the 118th Sapper (Engineer) Company and the 85th Civil Support Team.

In a celebratory ceremony Tuesday that included remarks by Gov. Gary Herbert and Adjutant Gen. Brian Tarbet, the 54,000-square-foot training facility was hailed as a decade-old milestone achieved by the collaborative efforts of congressional leaders, state leaders and the hard work of the Utah National Guard itself.

"This was undertaken by people who saw the need and accepted the call to get things done," Herbert said, calling the event a "red-letter" day for the guard.

Noting his own six years in the Utah National Guard serving out of Provo, Herbert said he hoped the facility becomes a visible part of the Salt Lake and north Davis county communities and becomes a recruitment tool as residents watch guard members come and go from the building.

It is his hope, he stressed, that residents will want to embrace the values the guard exemplifies and taught to him: discipline, duty, honor and teamwork.

The facility includes a large bay to house the variety of equipment used by the 20-member 85th Civil Support Team, which is the guard's first responder Hazmat Unit.

Previously stationed in Lehi, the full-time unit made up of Army and Air National Guard members has been sent to assist in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike, and responds to civilian incidents in Utah on a support basis.

The guard says by moving the unit to Salt Lake City, the unit is more centrally located.

e-mail: amyjoi@desnews.com