TOPEKA, Kansas - Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting, Kansas adjutant general, will announce the location of 18 armories closing across the state of Kansas during a 2 p.m. news conference on Friday, Dec. 11, at the State Defense Building, 2800 S.W. Topeka Blvd., Topeka, Kan.

The Kansas Adjutant General's Department announced on Nov. 25 it would close 18 of its 56 National Guard armories and consolidate its operations into 38 existing armory facilities. The proposal was part of Gov. Mark Parkinson's budget reduction announcement earlier that week.

"This decision was a very difficult one and the result of many hours of careful consideration of the impact to communities and our Guard members," Bunting said.

"During the past two weeks, we notified a number of staff to begin working on an implementation plan for the movement of the impacted Army units and equipment from each of these 18 facilities," said Bunting. "We are working to ensure each unit has a smooth transition."
All community and armory notifications will occur Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, prior to the public announcement. Meetings will be scheduled with each community to discuss the implementation of the closures.

Personnel in these armories will retain their jobs and be transferred to another location. The number of National Guard units in Kansas will not change due to these closures.

The decision to close the 18 facilities was the result of a reduced state budget and the need for long-term sustainment of the existing armories.
"Unfortunately, additional anticipated state budget reductions due to our challenging financial times are also requiring us to consider additional armory closures beyond these 18 in the future," said Bunting.