Assessing National Guard Armories
Emma Beernink
College Park Scholars – Science & Global Change Program
College Park Scholars Academic Showcase, May 4, 2018
National Guard Armories are classically under-funded and thus ill-prepared for emergency situations. The status of these armories is exemplified in the
Annapolis National Guard Armory, and under the guide of the Maryland Defense Force, my team explored the Annapolis National Guard Armory and
assessed the condition of the infrastructure.
Google Earth, 2017
Site Information:
Site: Annapolis National Guard Armory
Address: 18 Willow St, Annapolis MD, 21401
Supervisors: Lt. Col. Hubner and Mj. Beattie
The mission of the Annapolis National Guard
Armory serves as the army reserve for the United
States, with a specific focus in information
technology.
The goals of the project were to evaluate the
conditions of the armory and attempt to discern
the best way to allocate funding to improve the
issues in the infrastructure under the guide of the
Maryland Defense Force.
Pictured from left to right:
Emma Beernink, Sophie Lyle,
Cameron Long, and Kane Gui
Environmental Engineering
ebeernin@umd.edu
Activities:
I assessed the status of infrastructure in the
armory and assigned it a rating of green,
yellow, or red. I then made recommendations
for allocation of funds to fix these issues.
Issues Confronting Site:
The armory had serious violations of code; it
was less than 118 feet from the road, had
severe pitting in the parking lots that housed
organizational vehicles, and flaws in the
foundation that caused large cracks in the
walls. The roof also featured significant water
damage, and the armory was disorganized and
cluttered.
Impact:
The assessment of the Annapolis National
Guard Armory showed the lack of local
military funding, and the difficulty of updating
older infrastructure for organizations that need
to be ready at all times. In the case of the
armory, the assessment written by my team is
used as a method for determining if the
situation is dire enough to receive funding.
Future Work:
My team recommended that the armory use
funding to fix organizational parking lots that
house military equipment, replace the siding on
the roof, as well as re-installing windows to
prevent leaking during rain. We also
recommended that a professional come inspect
the foundation.
Acknowledgments:
I would like to thank Dr. Tomblin, the instructor of this course, for sharing his
knowledge of various infrastructure issues, as well Lt. Col. Hubner, Mj. Beattie,
and the Maryland Defense Force for their patience and tireless efforts to instruct
us on the art of assessing the status of infrastructure. I would also like to thank Space to
Dr. Holtz and Dr. Merck for being fantastic mentors for the past two years of place QR
Science of Global Change, and greatly appreciate their dedication to education Code
and enthusiasm that was clearly shown in each lecture.