WASHINGTON — Fort Rucker now has a new facility to house and support more than 300 Army aviation soldiers, replacing outdated barracks riddled with mold, gas leaks, electrical hazards, among other issues.
Army leaders and Alabama federal lawmakers held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday to celebrate the new PFC Garfield M. Langhorn Training Complex.
The 76,000-square-foot facility will provide Advanced Individual Training soldiers with updated living quarters and learning areas as they prepare to enter Army aviation formations. Fort Rucker last updated their barracks in 1998.
“These quality-of-life enhancements directly translate into improved focus, higher retention and increased combat readiness,” Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill, commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, said.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt touted how she secured $41.2 million as part of a military construction spending bill to help complete the construction of the complex, which began in 2024.
“The men and women… that serve here are heroes,” Britt, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in remarks. “I know that this is going to modernize the living conditions for aviation soldiers in training, and it’s going to provide them with the facilities they have long awaited.”
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, also celebrated the milestone Thursday. Tuberville highlighted how he also secured $6.6 million in funding for the project in the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
“If we can’t take care of the men and women that serve this great nation, then we are cutting the nation short,” Tuberville said at the ribbon-cutting. “This was a dream we got to see come to reality; days like this will make a difference.”
But Tuberville and Moore both voted against a spending package in 2024, consisting of six annual appropriations bills, one of which included the $41.2 million in funding earmarked to finish the barracks project.
Tuberville previously told Alabama Daily News at the time that he voted against the package because of its price tag and because it was brought to the floor as an omnibus bill.
The new barracks are named after Pfc. Garfield M. Langhorn, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in the Vietnam War. He was killed at the age of 20 when he threw himself onto an enemy grenade to shield several wounded comrades. His niece joined the officials for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Soldiers are expected to move into the complex, which will include integrated command centers, in the fall.