The Kansas Army National Guard Facilities Management Office will host a groundbreaking ceremony Friday, Nov. 30, for the construction of two new facilities near Fort Leavenworth and the Mission Training Complex. The projects include a transient training barracks for MTC-Leavenworth and a readiness center for the 35th Infantry Division headquarters. The ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. in the Division Main Building at MTC-Leavenworth, 8 Sherman Ave., Fort Leavenworth. The official party for the ceremony will include Kansas Senator Jerry Moran; Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Kadavy, director of the National Guard; Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, Kansas adjutant general; Maj. Gen. Victor Braden, commander, 35th Infantry Division; Lt. Col. Kurt Rorvik, commander, MTC-Leavenworth; and Chaplain (Maj.) Joshua Buford, Kansas National Guard full time support chaplain. The new 35th Infantry Division headquarters will encompass more than 101,000 square feet and will include office spaces, classrooms, physical training areas, a locker room, an auditorium, assembly hall, heated storage areas, arms vaults, and a medical unit. It will also include a vehicle maintenance work bay and associated office spaces. The transient training barracks facility will cover more than 72,000 square feet, will accommodate 540 soldiers in 10-bed bays, and will include laundry facilities. This new facility will allow soldiers to be housed on-site at the training venue, creating a much more logistically and cost-efficient environment to conduct training events that enhance the overall readiness of Army National Guard units. Both projects are designed to meet anti-terrorism and force protection requirements and will include energy-efficient and building-management technologies in order to reduce operation and maintenance costs for the life of the facilities.