Although a specific date for the closure has not been established, the Idaho National Guard says they will continue to work with leadership from the community to ensure the building is put to best possible use in the future.
Last fall, the National Guard announced the Bonners Ferry Armory was on a list of armories throughout the state that would be closed under a proposal submitted Congress to reorganize their locations and streamline National Guard operations. At that time, the National Guard projected that closing the Bonners Ferry and other armories around the state would occur at some point many years in the future. Major Christopher Borders, Idaho National Guard spokesman, said last fall, "There is not a set time for when the Bonners Ferry facility would be closed because these new Readiness Centers are all part of a 30-40 year plan, which has not been approved or funded, and there are no certainties at this point."
Major Borders now says in a new statement that new Department of Defense regulations, which include increases to minimum acreage and square footage requirements, will result in new construction and facility closures throughout the state.
“Most Idaho armories—now referred to as readiness centers—currently sit on insufficient acreage without enough space for expansion and will need to close in order to meet the new federal guidelines,” said Col. Thomas Rasmussen of the Idaho National Guard Construction and Facility Management Office. “When many of the facilities were constructed—some nearly 70 years ago—they were built on lots that, at the time were considered adequate. As our communities have grown, as is the case with Bonners Ferry, the Idaho National Guard is left without sufficient room for expansion.”
The National Guard also conducted demographic studies to determine local recruiting and retention potential in those communities where guard facilities exist. In the case of Bonners Ferry, the study determined that changes in demographics of the surrounding area pose significant challenges to Idaho Army National Guard recruiting and retention efforts.
“Recruiting populations have shifted over the past 50 years to larger regional population centers. In some cases the study found facilities without a single soldier from that community assigned to the readiness center,” Rasmussen said.
The National Guard Statement said that the Idaho Army National Guard’s facility in Bonners Ferry has been in operation since the 1950’s, and went on to say that "soldiers in this area have been an integral part of the community for more than 60 years. Detachment 1 of C Company Engineers built bridges and completed construction of the local football field, which is named after 1st Sgt. Kenneth Mendenhall, an Idaho Army National Guard NCO assigned to the Bonners Ferry armory from 1961-1981."
“It’s unfortunate we have to close the doors on our Bonners Ferry facility but we’re not closing the doors on our community,” Rasmussen said. ”These new requirements will force us to consolidate, but we will still remain in proximity so we’re able to continue supporting our community in Bonners Ferry as we always have.”
According to current federal guidelines, readiness centers must consist of 15-25 acre parcels with facilities able to accommodate specific storage space, maintain sufficient distances between perimeters and structures and must provide a minimum amount of square footage per soldier.