The Mead Atlas Readiness Center, located near the new barracks site. (Courtesy: RDG PLANNING & DESIGN)
Nebraska National Guard trainee’s will have a much shorter commute next year, as the Guard breaks ground on a new state-of-the-art barracks at their Mead Training Site.
On Tuesday, the Guard inaugurated construction of the $9.7 million, 29,000 square foot barracks.
“When it’s full, it’ll sleep about 160 soldiers who are training at our Mead Training Site,” Guard Spokesman Major Scott Ingalsbe told KLIN News, “It’ll be a modern facility with all the amenities that you would expect. Both male and female restrooms, is important to note, as some of our older armories may have been built before that was considered a necessity.”
With about 12,000 soldiers training at the Mead Site each year, they generally lodge down at Camp Ashland, “Which is not a terrible distance away, but commuting 20 or 30 minutes each way, that adds up to an hour a day taken away, potentially, from training time,” said Major Ingalsbe.
The building will be located near to the existing Atlas and Titan National Guard readiness centers.
The new barracks is anticipated to be completed late 2024/early 2025, according to Major Ingalsbe.