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    Oregon National Guard rededicates Milton-Freewater Readiness Center

    Local pride: Milton-Freewater Readiness Center upgraded, re-dedicated

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class April Davis | Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers with Detachment 1, 1186th Military Police Company...... read more read more

    MILTON-FREEWATER, OR, UNITED STATES

    04.05.2014

    Story by Sgt. 1st Class April Davis 

    115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

    MILTON-FREEWATER, Ore. - The Oregon Army National Guard held a rededication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the recently upgraded Milton-Freewater Readiness Center in Milton-Freewater, Ore., April 5. The facility is currently home to Detachment 1, 1186th Military Police Company, Oregon Army National Guard.

    Milton-Freewater Mayor Lewis Key and Maj. Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, adjutant general, Oregon, attended the ceremony, along with many local civic leaders and military guests.

    The first unit assigned to the armory was Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 186th Infantry Regiment, of the 41st Infantry Division, which was federally recognized in March 1947. After World War II, with support from the local American Legion post and the Chamber of Commerce, the Oregon Army National Guard organized a unit in Freewater. The unit initially drilled in the Freewater Community Building. By 1951, the merged towns of Milton and Freewater began promoting a centrally located armory by donating six lots to the state.

    The building's original construction was completed Jan. 1, 1954. The completed armory was dedicated in March 1954. The armory served as a civil defense headquarters and Red Cross kitchen during the 1964 and 1965 floods.

    The armory is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places due to its association with the post-World War II National Guard expansion program. It was the first armory to be built in Oregon using the 75 percent federal and 25 percent state funding program outlined in the Defense Facilities Act of 1950. Also, it was the first armory built to house a single unit in Oregon under the National Guard Bureau plan and therefore an example of the K-style armory.

    A unique feature of the armory is the upper-story windows on the assembly hall drill floor. It is the only K-style armory with tall windows allowing for much natural lighting. All other K-style armories had smaller, and fewer upper-story windows. The Milton-Freewater Armory has retained its integrity of location, setting, design, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.

    Work on the upgrade began in September 2012 and was completed in March 2014 at a cost of more than $4 million. This facility serves the community with flexible rental space and it meets all building codes for Americans with Disabilities Act and seismic requirements. The building also meets State Energy Efficient Design (SEED) requirements.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 04.05.2014
    Date Posted: 04.06.2014 23:34
    Story ID: 124606
    Location: MILTON-FREEWATER, OR, US

    Web Views: 479
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN