New Mexico Minuteman - Winter 2012

By Sgt. 1st Class Douglas Mallary,
Construction & Facilities Management Offi ce
As the new Army Aviation Support
Facility in Santa Fe nears completion, the
Construction & Facilities Management
Offi ce of the New Mexico Army National
Guard has awarded a contract to begin
remodeling the Farmington Readiness
Center and is fi nalizing plans for an
aviation readiness center in Santa Fe.
The new AASF is now approximately 68
percent complete and will be fi nished in
about four months, according to Capt.
Wilbert Archuleta, project manager. Maj.
Gen. Kenny C. Montoya, the Adjutant
General of New Mexico, toured the facility
Aug. 25, 2011, with Santa Fe Mayor David
Coss and offi cials from the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers to mark the halfway point of
the construction. The Corps of Engineers is
providing contract oversight of the project.
PCL Construction is the general contractor.
Construction of the new AASF is on
time and on budget with an overall price
tag of approximately $36 million. “It’s actually
been pretty uneventful, aside from the
usual hiccups of construction,” said project
manager 1st Lt. Wilford Griego.
Once the new AASF is completed, the
old AASF will be transformed into a new
readiness center for the Guard’s aviation
units—Company C., 1st Battalion, 171st
General Support Aviation Brigade, and
Detachment 44, Operational Support Airlift
Command. Deniz Berdine, an engineering
specialist with CFMO, said that design plans
for the new readiness center are 90 percent
Santa Fe and Farmington
construction projects move forward
complete, and she anticipates selection of
a general contractor by March 2012.
Berdine said that the new readiness
center is expected to achieve a Silver
Rating for Leadership in Energy and
Environment Design from the U.S. Green
Building Council, as are the new AASF and
remodeled Farmington Readiness Center.
“This will be our third LEED Silver building.
It’s very exciting,” said Berdine. Besides
fulfi lling government regulations for new
construction, LEED-certifi ed buildings are
environmentally friendly, energy effi cient
and cost effective, she said.
In Farmington, the New Mexico Army
National Guard selected Jaynes Corporation
to be the general contractor for the
readiness center overhaul and has issued
a notice to proceed. A ground breaking
ceremony took place Nov. 4, 2011. According
to Dan Selph, the CFMO’s master planner,
the project will provide a more modern
facility for its resident units, the 226th
Military Police Battalion and the 919th
Military Police Company.
The units temporarily relocated to two
leased buildings during construction, and
the Four Corners Regional Airport will
provide parking space for military vehicles.
Since the vehicles will be at the airport,
Selph said, the local Civil Air Patrol has
offered the use of its hangar for training
as well. Construction is expected to take
14 months to complete and cost approximately
$11 million.
“Support from the local community in
Farmington has been outstanding,” Selph
said. Besides cooperation from the airport
and the Civil Air Patrol, he said that
the mayor’s offi ce, city manager’s offi ce
and the entire city council have been very
cooperative.
Looking forward, Selph said that he
would like to see the New Mexico Army
National Guard begin a major construction
project every fi scal year if funding can be
obtained. “I don’t like to just push paper,”
said Selph, a retired Army lieutenant
colonel. “I like to put steel on target.”
Winter 2012 / NEW MEXICO National Guard 5
Rendering: Courtesy or Dekker/Perich/Sabatini