Armory hall named after Umbarger

The retired commander of the Indiana National Guard is being honored in Johnson County.

Retired Indiana adjutant general Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger was recognized for his 45 years of service with a hall being named after him at the Johnson County armory he helped create.

The armory, located off Interstate 65 and State Road 44 in Franklin, provides locally-based troops a place to train and gather. Umbarger pushed for the creation of the armory because Johnson County was one of few counties in the state without one, according to a news release from the Indiana National Guard.

Umbarger, a Bargersville native, retired from the military earlier this year, after leading the Indiana National Guard for 11 years. He is the second longest serving adjutant general in Indiana, the release said.

The Johnson County resident led the state’s National Guard when thousands of soldiers were being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Umbarger pushed for Camp Atterbury, a military installation near Edinburgh, to become a mobilization center. That allowed the base to get added resources in order to be able to train and prepare thousands of soldiers for deployment. He also has worked with officials to keep the installation busy since then, training members of the military, government and other organizations.

And he got funding to create the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center at a former state hospital that had been shut down. The center has since been recognized nationally.