A ribbon-cutting ceremony made it official, the operational readiness training complex is finally open. It is part of the Orchard Combat Training Center southeast of Boise, a world-class training center facility that is now even better.
It took a seven-year process that involved hundreds of contractors working out in the desert to put this unique complex together. The new complex includes an 880-bed facility, commercial dining, showers, laundry rooms and nearly 50,000 square-feet of office and maintenance space to support operations.
Lt. Col. Kevin Hickey with the Idaho Army National Guard says the facility is perfect for many military trainings.
"What this piece does it allows units to have a roll-off, roll-on facility to facilitate their training behind us out in the desert, out on the training ranges," said Hickey.
Before the complex existed, units would have to set up camps and spend the night in tents during training sessions, taking away from valuable training time.
“Now with the complex we have, units can come sign this out for their two weeks annual training or whatever training they need and have this facility prepared for them, so then can then actually spend more time doing the training they need to accomplish," said Hickey.
Why build everything way out in the desert? Hickey says the surrounding environment provides conditions similar to where units are deployed.
"With this desert environment they get good training in the desert and the dust, and then if you look around with the mountains we get a lot of good mountain training too with our helicopters landing on the mountains and doing some of that high-elevation training," said Hickey.
Parts of Idaho's 116th Brigade have already tested out the facility, but full units are expected to arrive this fall to fully utilize the facility.