FY05 Annual Report Final - STATES - The National Guard

Massachusetts Military Division
The Military Division is the state agency that provides combat-ready
units to the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force; readies units and soldiers
to protect, defend and preserve life, property and public order under
the authority of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and improves
the quality of life within our communities through civic actions,
partnerships and co-facility usage.
At the head of the Military Division is the Office of The Adjutant
General, to which all Massachusetts Air and Army National Guard
organizations report.
The division is staffed with 61 full-time state employees who support
7,500 Massachusetts National Guard members by maintaining
facilities, providing administrative support to senior officials, managing
state funds and performing legislative liaison functions.
The positions are critical, as their support directly impacts the ability
of the Massachusetts National
Guard to maintain force
structure. Without these positions,
the overall strength of the
Massachusetts National Guard
may have to be further reduced,
potentially reducing the nearly
$300 million in federal funds
coming into the state to support
the Massachusetts National
Guard.
More than 1,400 Massachusetts
National Guard Soldiers
served on State Active Duty
during fiscal year 2005, responding
to the blizzard in
January, hosting victims of
Hurricane Katrina at Camp
Edwards, supplementing security
at the Plymouth Yankee Nuclear Power Plant and assisting state
and local law enforcement with protecing public safety at the Boston
Marathon and the 4th of July celebration at the Esplanade.
The Massachusetts National Guard closed 14 facilities during the
past three years. These properties have been auctioned by the Department
of Capital Asset Management realizing more than $10 million
in revenue. In addition, $20 million in cost avoidance to the
commonwealth has been achieved through these closures.
The closures and downsizing are the continuation of a long-range
plan to develop new regional facilities. Some of these will be constructed
using federal military construction funds while others will
be created through the modernization of existing facilities with state
capital funds.
The Military Division will continue its facility downsizing activities
in fiscal year 2006, though the pace of closures is expected to
slow significantly.
Stationing plans have been updated as a result of armory closures
and the transformation to a new force structure on the Army National
Guard side. Some units will be relocated; others will transition
to a new type of unit but remain at their current armory.
The result of these stationing moves and closures will be a reduced
need to request large capital outlays from the state to repair and
maintain aging and obsolete sites. In addition, federal assets will be
better maintained in a more secure environment with improvements
to facilities that will be retained.
State Quartermaster
The State Quartermaster is responsible for the care and maintenance
of all real property in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts used for
state military purposes.
As the contracting officer for the Military division, the State Quartermaster
executed more than
79 contracts during the year at
a cost of approximately $9.2
million.
Massachusetts National Guard file photo
cordance with the agreement.
The State Quartermaster is the
state official charged with the
management and implementation
of the Master Cooperative
Agreement with the federal
government and, using federal
and state funds, provides support
to both Army and Air National
Guard facilities within
the Massachusetts National
Guard's control. The office employs
200 in that capacity and
was responsible for the expenditure
of approximately $26
million in federal funds in ac-
Within the State Quartermaster's Office are 39 armorers, who are
responsible for the day-to-day care and maintenance of National
Guard armories. Those armories are divided into four geographic
regions, each with a team leader who supervises the armorers within
his region. Three other employees oversee the overall maintenance
of the armories statewide and ensure the necessary supplies and services
are provided.
It is The Adjutant General's desire to further regionalize our facilities
to meet the needs of our new force structure as we complete the
Massachusetts Army National Guard's transformation. The
Governor's Office has filed a $25 million bonding bill for the replacement
and repair of Army National Guard Armories.
It is the State Quartermaster's goal to provide the finest facilities to
our Soldiers and Airmen allowable and available with the federal
and state funds provided.
2005 Annual Report 9