Camp Umatilla gets a green light for new barracks
By Terry Murry on Friday, January 8th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The recent approval of the National Defense Authorization Act by Congress included approval of constructing a $15,735,000 barracks building at the Camp Umatilla National Guard Training Center on land that was occupied by the Umatilla Army Chemical Weapons Depot near Hermiston.
The new 26,000-square-foot barracks is in addition to two additional barrack buildings at the site. It is planned that all of these projects will be bid out for construction this summer with completion expected in the summer or fall of 2022.
The federal funding for these projects will also include needed infrastructure and supporting facilities. The barracks are all steps in addressing the lack of adequate billeting required for soldiers that must travel to Camp Umatilla for training.
“This is a great training space now, and with these improvements Camp Umatilla will become a premier training facility for both our service members and the local community in the future,” Oregon Military Department Director of Installations Stan Hutchinson said.
The Oregon Military Department is one of the groups lined up to utilize the land being turned back for local use at the old depot. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Umatilla and Morrow counties, and the ports of Umatilla and Morrow are also part of the Columbia Development Authority.
Photo: Ongoing construction at Camp Umatilla National Guard Training Center, formerly Umatilla Army Chemical Depot, near Hermiston, Oregon, Aug. 1, 2019. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
