STEARNS, WHO REPRESENTS BLANDING, SECURED FUNDING FOR NEW TRAINING FACILITY

Washington, Apr 6, 2006 - "I am proud to represent Camp Blanding and to work with the Florid National Guard in maintaining Blanding as a premier training facility," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Ocala). "I am especially pleased that I was able to secure funding for phase I and phase II for building the Regional training Institute." Camp Blanding is the primary training area for the Florida National Guard and provides year-round training for tens of thousands of National Guardsmen, Active Army, and Reservists from all over the United States."

The Florida National Guard will be celebrating the groundbreaking for the Regional Training Institute at Camp Blanding on Saturday, April 8th, at 10:00 a.m. Stearns and other elected officials will speak at the groundbreaking event. Explained Stearns, "The Institute's current facilities are World War II vintage and are inadequate to meet the daily needs of the average 800 students per cycle. The proposed facility is designed to meet current training, conferencing, and accreditation requirements." Last year, Stearns secured $20 million for phase II of the new Institute, following on $12 million he obtained in 2004.