Missouri National Guard to unveil Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center

By Bill Phelan
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - The Missouri National Guard will soon unveil the Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center at Jefferson Barracks in south St. Louis County, the first new structure at the historic military post in decades.

A public open house for the $26.1 million facility is planned for Nov. 5, while a ribbon cutting ceremony is set for the following day. Specific times for the two events have not yet been determined.

The Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center will serve as headquarters of the U.S. Army Reserve in St. Louis and the 70th Troop Command, the largest brigade in the Missouri National Guard. The building includes high-tech classrooms, a full-service dining facility, a National Guard Family Support office, a fitness center, and a food pantry for military personnel and veterans.

Built by K&S Associates of St. Louis, the center consists of 140,000 square feet of new training space, a three-story, 133,000 square-foot administration building, and a one-story, 7,500 square-foot maintenance facility.

The building is earthquake proof and was constructed with certain anti-terrorism features.

Lt. Col. Christopher Mickan, administrative officer for the 70th Troop Command, described the new center as "more user friendly" than the former brigade headquarters just a few hundred feet away, which was built in 1894.

"While it's somewhat painful to move from the old building, this facility will actually save taxpayer money," Mickan said. "It's much more energy efficient and we'll be able to cook all of our food here instead of contracting it out."

Project architects, Ross & Baruzzini, of Webster Groves, and structural engineers Mason & Associates, of St. Louis, designed the red brick center to blend in with other structures at Jefferson Barracks, most of which were built in the 19th Century.

"I'm very glad they constructed the center with the historic preservation of the post in mind," Mickan said. "History is very important on this base and with this new building we've started our own chapter to that history."

Construction on the reserve center began on September 5, 2008.

Originally scheduled for completion in February 2010, persistent rainfall delayed several phases of construction, according to Andy Disler, a project manager and inspector for the Missouri Department of Public Safety.

"Unfortunately this project was plagued by rain," Disler said. "We had to delay setting the support piers for the building because the holes kept filling up with water. We also had to delay paving the parking lot because the ground would simply not dry out enough. You can't pave over mud."

Rain also delayed getting the building online.

"When we coordinated the automation of the building the date kept getting pushed back," Mickan explained. "That was very frustrating because we were not able to establish a hard date for connecting the building. It just kept changing."

Now all but completed, several National Guard units began moving into the building August 30.

As the reserve center becomes fully occupied, older buildings vacated by Guard and Reserve units are slated to become military museums as part of a master plan for Jefferson Barracks made public earlier this year.

Established in 1826, Jefferson Barracks is the oldest operational military post west of the Mississippi River. It is also the site of the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and a U.S. Veterans Administration Hospital.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please call 1-800-GoGuard or visit www.moguard.com.