DURANT, OK-- These halls are lined with pictures, flags, and awards for the 1-180th Cavalry. But Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hearon said there's something missing..
"This wall here will be our next flag, Kuwait. Where the 180th just returned from deployment. We were there as a mobile reaction force for 8 different countries for the Middle East."
When they came home, their armory had a new look and some equipment upgrades. During the year they were gone, the 43-year-old building got a $2.1 million facelift.
Wednesday, the City of Durant celebrated a re-dedication of the building.
Major Shane Riley who trained in Durant said this is more than an office, it's a readiness building to train soldiers to protect their country and the armory needed an upgrade.
"Between the armory that I walked into 22 years ago here and what we are looking at today, that armory is a and still is a nice building and a nice structure, it had just become warn and outdated and it needed some help to become a functional facility," Riley explained.
With funding from the State of Oklahoma and the Federal Government the building went from 18,000 square feet to 21,000 square feet. It was renovated inside and out. And has the beset available technology the industry offers.
More than 200 National Guard men and women use the facility on a given weekend and 20 full time staff members use the building on a daily basis.
"This is where we are today, we finally got the ribbon cut, we got our furniture in, and it feels like a weights been lifted off and we can get back to day to day business," Hearon said.
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