Kernan, Visclosky Unveil Proposal for National Guard Units at Gary/Chicago Airport

Gary, IN  – Lieutenant Governor Joe Kernan (D-Ind.) and Congressman Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) today announced a proposal to relocate three Indiana Army National Guard units to Gary.  The plan calls for Guard facilities to be built at the Gary/Chicago Airport, providing mobile rapid response to threats against homeland security throughout Northwest Indiana and the Chicago metropolitan area.

The creation of the facilities is estimated to provide 100-150 construction jobs in Northwest Indiana.  The base itself is expected to have approximately 27 full-time employees, with an additional 136 part-time employees at the base on weekends.  This will create business for the area’s restaurants, stores, gas stations, entertainment venues, and various other enterprises.  The unit will also provide an influx of federal funding for new jobs generated by personnel and service-support requirements, such as vehicle maintenance, fuel, and food.

“With our nation at war against terrorism, our homeland security is paramount,” Visclosky said.  “Locating a National Guard base at the Gary/Chicago Airport will help secure the entire Northwest Indiana-Chicago region against the dangers of terrorism.  It will also help the Gary/Chicago Airport become an engine for creating jobs in Northwest Indiana.”

“In an emergency situation, the immediacy of the response is key,” said Kernan, who serves as chairman of the Indiana Counter-Terrorism and Security Council.  “And with the relocation of the three units to the Gary/Chicago Airport, immediate action will be a given for this part of the state.  Clearly, this a project that will pay off for the community now, as well as in the years to come.”          

Units to be shifted to Gary would include an aviation team from Shelbyville, Ind.; a medical team from Monticello, Ind.; and a civil-support team from Indianapolis.  The planned base, to be built at an estimated cost of $24,440,500, will house five new HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.  Plans call for the federal government to pay 100 percent of the construction costs.

All units stationed at Gary will be 100 percent mobile and available to assist in the support of any major calamity.  The Civil Support Team provides early assessment and initial detection of weapons of mass destruction.  Units based at Gary will be able to provide rapid helicopter response to Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area much more quickly than Coast Guard helicopters currently based at Traverse City, Michigan.

The move of the three units to Gary will not diminish the Guard’s existing capabilities at Indianapolis, Shelbyville, or Camp Atterbury.  If needed, National Guard units based in Gary will be able to reach any part of Indiana, via helicopter, within two hours.