Topeka — The Kansas Adjutant General's Department will close 18 of its 56 National Guard armories by June of 2010. The proposal was part of Governor Mark Parkinson's budget reduction announcement on Monday.

The 18 armories that will be cut have been identified, but the National Guard is not releasing those locations until the affected communities are notified. The National Guard plans on releasing the locations to the public in early December.

Adjutant General's Department public affairs director Sharon Watson said all regions of the state will be affected but assures Kansans that despite these cuts the National Guard will be able to address the needs of the state when necessary.

She said the reduction is being handled as a consolidation. She said no workers will be laid off, and the 19 federal employees currently working at the closing armories will be transferred to other armories. She also said the 678 guardsmen who train at the closing armories will train at alternative armories.

The National Guard plans on closing the armories starting in January. It expects it will take six months to transfer the equipment and personnel from all 18 armories. In June, the National Guard will turnover the buildings of the closed armories to their prospective communities.

The Adjutant General's Department says these cuts will save $156,662 for the current fiscal year. Additional cuts for next year's budget will bring a total savings of $264,217 for the 2011 fiscal year.

The 56 armories have been operating with only 65 percent of the required funds for several years, Watson said. She said these cuts have been on the horizon for awhile.

The 18 armories were selected based on very specific criteria: their proximity to other armories, their historical and projected demographic shifts in population, their consolidation of operations, their condition of current facilities including facility upgrades and maintenance costs and their potential to expand to accommodate new mission requirements.