Refurbished Armory Awaits Troops

Returning home from Iraq, the troops of the Westfield Armory have been greeted with a refurbished military home.

The volunteers of the Armory's Family Readiness Group have been hard at work fundraising and renovating several areas of the south side military installation in order to provide a nice environment for the troops.

Nancy LaCorte, the FRG coordinator, said the troops had long complained about the state of the Armory's morale, welfare and recreation room. An older space, the MWR room was damaged years ago when a pipe burst spreading water around, with the room not being repaired since. Older damaged carpeting and furniture decorated the room, not raising the morale of the troops based in the Armory. Hearing from her son, Josh, who is stationed at the Armory, LaCorte figured she had to do something to help him and the other troops.

"The carpet was disgusting, a pipe had burst in here," she said. "Josh said to me 'can you do something to fix this room.'"

Getting to work, the FRG starting bringing in donations to repair the MWR room and other parts of the Armory. Rust-oleum donated 180 gallons of paint for the project, while UNICO helped with bringing in new furniture and man power. The 1970s era furniture was replaced with new modern couches. Chairs dating back to the 1930s were refinished and set up in the new dining area. The back received a facelift with a series of new appliances.

LaCorte noted the new appliances did not cost taxpayer dollars, as they were donated by a volunteer who won them during trips to Atlantic City. The state, which runs the Armory and National Guard, would not permit tax money to be spent on the project.

"It was largely UNICO stuff," she said of the donations.

Three new televisions have been set up in the MWR room, two dedicated for TV watching. LaCorte noted the troops are partial to the Military Channel, the Weather Channel and cable news. The third will be in the XBox area for soldiers to play video games. She said the New Jersey Suburban Youth Football League raised several hundred dollars for the video game center and allowed some of the kids in the league to go on an XBox buying spree for the Armory.

Outside of the MWR room, the Armory's kitchen and dining room were both renovated. New coats of paint were applied and the rooms were upgraded. The dining room will now feature an American flag on one wall along with flag themed pillars in the middle of the room. All of the art work was done by Westfield High School students. The weight room is being redone with new equipment and new carpeting, along with a donated sound system.

LaCorte said the project has been a source of pride of her time as FRG coordinator for Westfield. She said it will allow the troops a chance to enjoy their drill periods in Westfield. The project will be completed to allow troops to enjoy the updates after Saturday's welcome back parade.

"This is a place for them to go that the community gave them." she said.