NU plans spring armory groundbreaking

By Maggie Denison
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

This spring will bring an exciting event that will be forever part of Norwich University's history. The ground breaking for the Armory of the Future funded by the federal government is soon to take place.

Norwich University and the Vermont National Guard have a agreed to build an armory to benefit students and faculty.

"Norwich is providing the land that it will sit on," said Norwich President Richard Schneider. "It will be owned by the Vermont National Guard."

According to Schneider, the land will be owned by the Vermont National Guard for 30 years and then will be deeded over to Norwich. It is to provide a state of the art training facility for the Vermont National Guard and a regional training facility for other Guard units in the New England region.

The federal government is spending $14 million for the building and another $2.5 million for technical equipment. It will be located on Disney Field, and the 80,000 square foot structure will be built on the site of the rappelling tower and softball field.

The new armory will resemble the Engineering, Math and Science Complex and will be designed to fit into the Norwich atmosphere.

"We had a lot of input on what the building looks like on the outside," said David Magida, NU Chief Administrative Officer. "That is where we have been most heavily involved."

According to Philip Susmann, Norwich University Chief Information Officer, the armory will contain tank simulators to set up mock battles from a "tank platoon all the way down to a private with a rifle."

Along with the simulators, the armory will also contain a number of computer laboratories which will be used for distance learning through school and in network military training.

Magida said "this is one of the most exciting projects."

This project is unlike anything the university has done before. The outer structure of the armory will take approximately 18 months to complete before the work on the inside can begin.

"They (the federal government) have never put (an armory) in the hands of the Guard before, and they have never located one on a university before," Schneider said. "We will be the only university or college in the nation with one."

Having the armory on campus will not only benefit the Vermont National Guard, but the number of drilling Guardsmen who attend Norwich as well as Norwich students.

"The students (participating in the program) will be able to sleep in their own racks and eat in their own mess hall, and they will not have to make the commute up to Camp Ethan Allen," Schneider said.

The armory will bring a lot of publicity to the school. It will also allow the university to recruit Guardsmen for the school.

"I am going to recruit to every Guardsman that comes through," Schneider said. "Both for their own education, to take the master's program in military science and diplomacy course, or to send their young students to us."

With the Armory of the Future, Norwich University will see new numbers in student enrollment which will benefit the university.

"What better place to put future armories than at American colleges, so that our college students who are going to be the future leaders know what it is like for our men and women in uniform," Schneider said.

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