Atterbury reloads: Camp invests major dollars for future role
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Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger, left, during a ground break ceremony for the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Centers new Operational Readiness Training Complex which will consist of barracks for 1,176 troops and a dinning facility Tuesday, July 3, 2012, in Edinburgh, Indiana. The event was nearly 2 years in the works after Gov Mitch Daniels, the Indiana National Guard, Indiana Department of natural Resources and Indiana Department of Corrections agreed to exchange more then 2,000 acres of DNR land for 1200 acres of DRN land north of Camp Atterbury. STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT ROBERSON/sroberson@dailyjournal.net
Camp Atterbury Garrison Commander Col. Ivan Denton speaks during a ground break ceremony for the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Centers new Operational Readiness Training Complex which will consist of barracks for 1,176 troops and a dinning facility Tuesday, July 3, 2012, in Edinburgh, Indiana. The event was nearly 2 years in the works after Gov Mitch Daniels, the Indiana National Guard, Indiana Department of natural Resources and Indiana Department of Corrections agreed to exchange more then 2,000 acres of DNR land for 1200 acres of DRN land north of Camp Atterbury. STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT ROBERSON/sroberson@dailyjournal.net
Expect more than $75 million in new construction to transform Camp Atterbury into a bigger post over the next two years.
The military installation in southern Johnson County soon will start construction on three additional dormitory-like barracks buildings that will allow it to train more service members and bring in larger units more frequently. The added housing is part of a new 66-acre complex on the north side of the post, where visiting soldiers and National Guard members will stay when they train.
Camp Atterbury expects to spend $52 million in federal funds over the next two years to build three barracks buildings and a dining facility north of Hospital Road, where the post had been during World War II, Maj. Gen. R. Martin Umbarger said. He estimates the post will spend another $25 million to expand a rail spur so units can ship vehicles, equipment and gear to Camp Atterbury for training exercises.
The projects will expand the post so it can handle its new role as a major center for training and testing, Umbarger said. The post already has built a new day care facility to help serve the additional 750 soldiers who have been stationed at Camp Atterbury to help with training.
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