CAMP RIPLEY - The mission of Camp Ripley is to provide the best support, facilities and resources enabling customers to train in a realistic environment while maintaining positive community relations.
"Our duty is to be a training center capable of providing all assets needed to fulfill all customers' missions now and into the future" said Col. Scott St. Sauver, Camp Ripley Garrison Commander.
Camp Ripley habitually supports the simultaneous training requirements of over 10,000 National Guard service members, academy students and personnel from multiple state and local agencies.
The existing educational center, constructed in 1995, consisted of 19 classrooms, with no dedicated billeting or dining facilities. The lack of adequate facilities hampered Camp Ripley's ability to support the training requirements of a growing number of customers.
"Camp Ripley has really shown its use as a regional training area, providing facilities for several agencies coming from multiple states across the Midwest," said Maj. Joseph Sanganoo, Camp Ripley operations officer.
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The project consisted of a 67,436 square foot construction plan specially designed to increase education center usage. This plan was based around three major areas: the first being the addition of classrooms, both large and small, to include a 200 person auditorium and break rooms; the second, a 400 person dining facility able to provide a easy throughput for multiple organizations training on Camp Ripley; the third being the construction of 40 individual billets for students.
"The addition is a big positive for the Regional Training Institute", said Capt. Rob Grutsch, training officer for the 175th Regional Training Institute. "Centralized classrooms, dining facility and billeting all in one location will speed up our in-processing and improve training time," he added.
"It will be more of college atmosphere to fit the Army's education model 2015 which is a new teaching design more adaptable to a diverse, operational force structure focusing on student interaction," said Grutsch.
The new education center is expected to open March 15, 2015.
