Members of the Vermont National Guard returned just days ago from the Middle East and the unit's longest-ever deployment. On Wednesday, the state's U.S. senators and National Guard officials broke ground on a planned support services center for guard members and their families.
The Family Readiness and Support Center will be built just inside the gates of Camp Johnson in Colchester.
Vermont National Guard State Public Affairs Officer Joseph Brooks says the new facility will benefit families by bringing together services at one location.
“This new facility will bring together the many services that support our service members, veterans and their families which are currently scattered across the installation under one modern, purpose-built roof. Today marks the beginning of construction on that vision.”
Chief Facilities Management Officer Colonel Jacob Roy says the idea of a new facility was driven by a desire to provide better and needed services to active members, veterans and their families.
“The family service center concept began in early 2021. The project was approved in 2022. This $5.8 million project will consist of a 10,900 square-foot facility, nearly doubling the size of the existing dilapidated building.”
Vermont National Guard commander Major General Henry Harder Jr. says the facility will provide services such as financial counseling, veterans and retirement services and sexual assault prevention, response and legal assistance.
“If you haven’t spent much time on this installation, you might not realize how spread out our family support services currently are. Our team does tremendous work, but finding them and accessing their services is not easy. Our soldiers, airmen and their families deserve better. The Family Readiness Support Center will fix that. In a couple of years when we cut the ribbon on this building it will serve as a lynchpin for our commitment to our service members, their families and our military community.”
Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders secured $4.6 million in the 2022 federal budget for the design and construction of the facility. He emphasized that it’s important to remember that the Guard is more than those who serve in uniform.
“Just think for a moment what a deployment means to a family. It means their kids suddenly don’t have their dad or their mom at home and they, in fact, worry whether or not their dad or mom will ever return home, and when they will return home. That is enormous stress on Vermont families and our job is to do everything that we can to support them.”
Sanders, along with his colleague Senator Peter Welch, secured an additional $2 million in federal funding this year to fully fund the project. Welch says families of guard members must be a focus of the support services.
“When it comes to having a facility that’s there to meet the needs of the families of the Guard, you know, the worry a lot of our men and women who serve have is about the families they left behind. So it’s going to be very reassuring that they know their partner, their spouse and their kids will have a place they can come and be with others who are going through this very, very hard experience.”
Harder says the move to bring all services together in one location is an example of the Guard prioritizing support for their entire military community.
“This building reinforces a commitment Vermont has led on for nearly 20 years. Back in 2006, Vermont pioneered an outreach model for returning soldiers and airmen to ensure nobody falls through the cracks. That program became a national benchmark cementing Vermont’s legacy and leading the way in family and veterans’ support.”
The new center is expected to open in 2028.
