Vermont National Guard outlines 25-year plan to replace aging armories with regional readiness centers

The Vermont Department of the Military told the Senate Institutions Committee on April 11 that it plans a multiyear program to replace most of the state's aging company‑sized armories with four to five regional readiness centers, starting with a Linden project and with a northwest site in Swanton already having land secured.

The plan matters because the Guard said most of its armories are Cold War‑era buildings — many more than 60 years old — that no longer meet modern training and mission requirements, and the department is seeking a mix of federal military construction funding, federal sustainment funds and state matching dollars to move projects forward.

General Hank Harvey, deputy adjutant general, told the committee, “The state of the Guard is strong,” and framed the presentation around a plan to leverage end‑of‑life armory sales to reinvest in regional readiness centers. Colonel Jacob Roy, construction and facility management officer for the Vermont Army National Guard, and other staff then described a 25‑year strategy to reduce roughly 16 company‑sized armories into larger facilities that can house multiple units and support both state and federal missions.

Officials named Linden as the immediate priority and said bids recently went out for that project. During the…