The Delaware National Guard 193rd Regional Training Institute (RTI) in Bethany Beach is getting an upgrade.
Officials broke ground on a new facility at Guard's Bethany Beach training site Monday.
Adjutant General of the Delaware National Guard, Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala says the new 14,000 square foot training and administration center allows the 193rd RTI to stay current by adopting state of the art technology throughout the building.
"The newest technology will be applied in the structure and we will continue to build on that," Maj. Gen. Vavala said. "We'll look for efficiencies and economies in the way we power it, and we'll certainly keep pace with the newest technology as it evolves."
Army Command recently named the 193rd RTI an “Institute of Excellence” and Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala says the commitment to a new building further validates the institute’s work.
“We’ve been training soldiers and airmen down here for over a century, and this is just another great enhancement as we try to improve what we do for state and country," Maj. Gen. Vavala said. "What we do here today is going to have lasting effects for eons in training countless thousands of our men and women of military here in Delaware.”
The Bethany Beach training site is already considered a leading technical school for signal support and communications. It also conducts training for emergency operations, civil disturbance and combat lifesaving and the site’s Military Academy runs Delaware’s Officer Candidate School.
Delaware firm EDiS received the contract to construct the building, which is estimated to cost around $5 million.
Vavala believes the new training center will have an impact on Sussex County and the state’s bottom line.
“You’re going to have troops from all over this great country of ours coming to Delaware to enhance their skills and their proficiencies learning from our best," said Vavala, "which is going to improve our economy because people are going to come in and they’re going to spend money here in the First State.”