After 7 years of construction, the Treasure Valley has a new home base for training the Idaho National Guard and other members of the armed forces. The new Operational Readiness Training Complex is located on the Orchard Combat Training Center southeast of Boise. A place where combat troops already train in the harsh desert environment. The new 880-bed facility has all the comforts of home plus nearly 50 thousand square feet of office and maintenance space. The facility comes with a price tag over of 55 million dollars and will allow members of the armed forces and national guard personnel from all over the country to get needed field training.
"Most of the time it's the national guard that comes out here and does their 2-week annual training out here. It gives them more time to do training and less time setting up tents and other things they would do spending a day or 2 doing when they got out here, " Said Lieutenant colonel Kevin Hickey of the Idaho Army National Guard.
The Idaho National Guard say some groups have already used the new facility, a much larger unit is expected to start training in the fall.
