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National Guard Armory closing in Dillingham

Hannah Colton

Lt. Col. William Burdett says there are not enough local recruits to justify maintaining the armory.

The National Guard Armory in Dillingham is closing due to lack of use. 

Lt. Colonel William Burdett, Construction and Facilities Manager for the Alaska Guard, said the Guard couldn’t justify using federal dollars to keep the Armory in Dillingham open with no personnel on site.

“We don’t have any good prospects for recruits within the community. The recruiting command had done marketing research there, and the community really can’t support it well with numbers.”

The Guard usually needs at least eleven soldiers to keep a local unit open, according to Burdett. He added that it’s not just Dillingham – there are a number of other armories sitting unused throughout Alaska.

Burdett said that soldiers already came into Dillingham and removed National Guard property from the Armory. The next step is to have soil tests to determine whether the site needs restoration work.   

“We have a responsibility – because we have been in that facility for so long – from an environmental perspective... if there is any sort of remediation required, we'll make sure to take care of that at our cost.”

The facility, which had been leased to the Guard on a month-to-month basis, will return to City of Dillingham ownership.

City Manager Rose Loera says that the city will soon put out a request for proposals for a new occupant. The city hopes the new tenant will be fisheries-related, given the location in Boat Harbor.

Loera confirmed that the animal shelter will continue to occupy half of the building as it has since 2013.