For National Guard’s 375th Birthday, Georgia celebrates opening of new headquarters building

CLAY NATIONAL GUARD CENTER, Marietta, Ga., Dec. 7, 2011 – More than 500 guests, including local and state officials and three former adjutants general, filled the main assembly area of the new Joint Force Headquarters building here to commemorate its official opening. At the same time, the crowd also helped celebrate the National Guard’s 375th Birthday and to mark the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Today is a proud day for the National Guard. It’s a day when we can take pride in 375 years of National Guard service, pride in this amazing new facility,” said Maj. Gen. Jim Butterworth, Georgia’s Adjutant General. “We can also take pride in the fact that community leaders from throughout the state and region are here to celebrate with us today.

“The National Guard’s first muster 375 years ago reflects an aspect of its national character that rings true still today – that the Guard’s all-volunteer fighting force has always sought to keep ‘one hand on the plow,’ even when going to war,” Butterworth added. “Meaning that, even when fighting abroad, the National Guard has always retained a strong focus on the home front.”

As for the new 220,000 square-foot structure into which an estimated 700 Guardsmen, Georgia State Defense Force members and civilian employees have begun moving, Butterworth says, the new headquarters means the proliferation of an already potent bond between the local community and the National Guard.

“It also means enhanced efficiencies – both tangibly in the form of state-of-the-art technology, and operationally in the form of improved interoperability,” he said. “That translates into better service and execution on our part as we continue our state and federal missions.”

Georgia’s National Guard, Gov. Nathan Deal said, has always been central to the state’s homeland security. From responses to floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornados to the 1996 Olympics, and today’s post 9-11 security concerns, Georgia Guardsmen have been there every step of the way, providing decisive support to civil authorities. In support of the warfight and other national interests, Deal noted, the Georgia Guard has troops in more than 20 countries spread across five continents. Its presence is world-wide – and so the state of Georgia is, by extension, a player on the world stage.

Yet, despite all this, the Guard’s dual-focus ensures that its Soldiers and Airmen are always here for the citizens of Georgia when needed, the governor added.

“This new headquarters will provide a critical tool in Georgia’s emergency response tool belt – offering nearly 4,000 square-feet for emergency management functions,” Butterworth said. “More important than all the quantifiable figures, though, is a qualitative one: interoperability. This facility not only allows for more seamless relations amongst the Air and Army Guard, and State Defense Force – but it also allows the National Guard to play an even greater role as a partner to GEMA and other civil authorities as our Guardsmen go about the business of aiding the warfight and defending the homeland.”

Butterworth added that the day was not just to celebrate the opening of new offices, it was to also to celebrate a step forward in the service the National Guard will be able to provide to the community, the state of Georgia, FEMA region IV, and the nation.

“The bond with our communities, with our state, is strong,” Butterworth said. “Indeed, it’s doubtful this building could have been erected without the considerable and decisive contributions of many in this room. I believe I speak, not only for my self, but for all of us who serve the great state of Georgia and the nation, when I say this is a proud day for the Georgia National Guard and the National Guard as a whole.”