(PUTNAM, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the Connecticut National Guard held a groundbreaking ceremony in Putnam to commemorate the start of construction on its new Putnam Readiness Center.
The readiness center (the modern-day term for what was previously referred to as an armory) will provide the Connecticut National Guard with a state-of-the-art base of operations to train for federal mobilizations and respond to emergencies in northeastern Connecticut, commonly known by many residents as the Quiet Corner. It will become home to the 643rd Military Police Company, which is currently stationed in a cramped and outdated armory in Westbrook that was built in 1955 and does not meet current anti-terrorism and force protection standards.
The facility is being funded by $6.5 million in state funding that is leveraging $21.5 million in federal military construction funding. Located on Pomfret Street on land that is adjacent to the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services John Dempsey Center, it will consist of more than 37,000 square feet of operations space. It is expected to open in late 2025. The Connecticut Military Department has been working closely with the Connecticut Department of Administrative Services on the project design, procurement, and construction.
Governor Lamont explained that its creation is part of the state’s broader goal of having facilities strategically located in each of Connecticut’s eight counties that can be used to quickly respond to and meet emergency needs, particularly during severe weather events and natural disasters. Once the Putnam facility opens, the Connecticut National Guard will have a presence and base of operations in each of the state’s five emergency planning and response regions, as classified by the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. The Guard previously operated a facility in Windham County – the Putnam Armory – however it was shuttered in 2007. Its nearest facility that is currently in operation is the Rockville Armory, which is located more than 34 miles away in neighboring Tolland County.
“As the frequency of severe weather events has grown over the last several years, so has the need to provide rapid and adequate emergency response,” Governor Lamont said. “Establishing this readiness center in Putnam will provide the Connecticut National Guard with a base of operations in the Quiet Corner, where we’ve lacked this kind of facility for many years. As we’ve seen with the pandemic and many natural disasters, the National Guard is critical to our ability to respond to the needs of our state’s residents quickly and meaningfully. Whether its clearing storm damage or distributing supplies, the members of the Connecticut National Guard are good neighbors to have.”
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of our state officials and our federal delegation to get this project designed and funded,” Major General Evon, adjutant general of the Connecticut National Guard, said. “As we have seen over the past several years, the need for the National Guard to rapidly respond to weather and security events has increased dramatically, while we also continue to generate forces for deployment overseas in support of federal missions. COVID-19 highlighted that the Guard is vital to securing lifelines and infrastructure in our communities. Construction of the Putnam Readiness Center gives us a presence in northeastern Connecticut that we have not had in well over a decade. It will provide us a staging base to respond to our communities in the ‘Quiet Corner' much faster when hours and minutes count.”