A Colorado National Guard Army unit stationed in Durango will leave its post in an effort to save time and money by joining its parent unit in Montrose.
According to Maj. Darin Overstreet, public affairs officer for the Colorado National Guard, the location at 283 Girard St. in Bodo Industrial Park will be vacated by July 20.
The facility was home to the Detachment 1, 947th Engineers, a “horizontal unit,” which builds roads, landing zones and other infrastructure on flat surfaces in combat zones. The unit also works on projects in the U.S., such as rebuilding highways after the 2013 flood near Estes Park.
Overstreet said almost 60 percent of the approximately 50 service members had to drive more than 100 miles to reach the Durango facility. And about 25 percent had to drive 50 to 100 miles.
As a result, the unit had retention and recruitment challenges and went from being 102 percent staffed down to 80 percent in 3½ years, Overstreet said.
Also, service members would have to be reimbursed for travel expenses.
“This was really more of an opportunity to consolidate resources for us,” Overstreet said.
He said the Colorado National Guard built the facility in 1958 on property that was leased from La Plata County.
Megan Graham, spokeswoman for La Plata County, said the land was leased for $1 annually on the condition that the land and any improvements on it would be given back to the county at the end of the lease.
According to a 2017 county assessment, the armory building and the land now have an actual value of $1,727,380.
“The county is just beginning conversations about how best to use the Armory building when the National Guard vacates the facility later this month,” Graham said.
The adjutant general of Colorado, U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Loh, said in a prepared statement, “We value the tremendous support La Plata County, the city of Durango and members of the community have given our soldiers and their families. We look forward to continuing our close community ties on the Western Slope.”
jromeo@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to correct the detachment unit. It is Detachment 1, 947th Engineers. Incorrect information was provided to The Durango Herald.
