- November 4, 2024
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State and local officials break ground on the Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility. Photo by Sierra Williams
Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. Photo by Sierra Williams
Florida House Speaker and Rep. Paul Renner. Photo by Sierra Williams
Florida State Guard Executive Director Mark Thieme. Photo by Sierra Williams
County Commissioner Andy Dance with Rep. Paul Renner and State Sen. Tom Wright. Photo by Sierra Williams
A Florida State Guard K-9 holds a golden shovel at the site of the future Florida State Guard training facility. Photo by Sierra Williams
Florida State Guard soldiers. Photo by Sierra Williams
House Speaker and Rep. Paul Renner at the Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility's groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Sierra Williams
Flagler County Commissioner Andy Dance. The Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility will be built on county-owned land. Photo by Sierra Williams
Sheriff Rick Staly was one of the driving forces for the Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility. Photo by Sierra Williams
State Sen. Tom Wright at the Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility's groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Sierra Williams
Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson at the Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility's groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Sierra Williams
State and local officials at the Florida State Guard Multi-Agency training facility's groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by Sierra Williams
A new Florida State Guard training facility is officially underway in Flagler County.
The facility is the result of the combined efforts over several years of Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly, House Speaker and State Rep. Paul Renner, the Flagler County Commission and multiple other legislators and state agencies. It will become a regional, multi-agency training facility that will allow for state-of-the-art training.
“This starts a new chapter for training first responders, not only for the Florida State Guard but for the Flagler County Sheriff's Office, Flagler County Fire Rescue, Bunnell and Flagler Beach police departments and other public safety agencies in our county and region
The facility is a $10 million project, and Renner and Staly spear-headed efforts to get the $10 million in state appropriations to Flagler County.
Staly said the state funding has two deadlines: the facility’s construction must be underway by the third quarter of 2025 and completed by early 2027. The state, he said, has already signed several contracts, including for architectural design and surveying, to begin satisfying the first deadline.
Staly, alongside Renner, State Sen. Tom Wright, Flagler County Commissioners, and other local officials broke ground at the training facility sight in a ceremony on Nov. 4. They were flanked by local first responders and Florida State Guard soldiers.
The facility is being built on county-owned property near the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility on Justice Lane in Bunnell. According to a design outline, the facility will have 5,000-square-foot training facility with office and classroom spaces, a 50- and a 200-yard tactical shooting range and a 200,000 square foot driving range.
The facility will be available for the Florida State Guard to train its law enforcement component, Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Flagler County Fire-Rescue, and other first responder agencies across the region, a Flagler County Sheriff’s Office press release said.
Staly said Flagler County law enforcement currently practices tactical driving training at the Flagler County airport, when a runway is available, and done in low speed on drive pavement.
Staly said that training has mostly been collision avoidance, but that first responders haven’t been able to train “in real-world driving conditions that they encounter when responding to calls for service, whether they're in a patrol car, a fire rescue truck or heavy duty rescue vehicles.”
“Not only will this complex provide amazing training to first responders, but this new level of training will likely reduce liability,” he said.
Local law enforcement also uses the Flagler County Gun Club for its firearms training, he said.
“While this has been a great partnership, it has limited capabilities and availability for training what is needed in today's law enforcement,” Staly said.
Staly worked with Renner, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, and the Florida State Guard over the last four years to secure the funding and the decision to locate the joint regional training facility in Flagler County. The Florida State Guard and Flagler County Board of County Commissioners signed a 30-year lease agreement in the state and county partnership for the land, with the option for an additional 10-year lease extension, the press release said.
The Florida State Guard responds during emergencies to distribute resources and humanitarian aid, clear routes and aid in search and rescue efforts, among other responsibilities, according to the guard’s website.
The Florida State Guard was originally created in 1941 as a stateside replacement for the Florida National Guard and was later disbanded in 1947, the press release said. It was relaunched in 2022.
Florida State Guard Executive Director Mark Thieme said the Florida State Guard’s soldiers demonstrated their life-saving capabilities during search and rescue missions after Hurricanes Helene and Milton in both Florida and in North Carolina.
The Florida State Guard soldiers’ success is well documented, Thieme said, and this facility will allow them to hone and sharpen their skills.
“This campus represents the only organic location for the Florida State Guard to train our highly credentialed Special Operations soldiers in support of public safety and search and rescue operations,” Thieme said.
Staly said the facility will allow first responders and the Florida State Guard to practice together and learn from each other before they are deployed during a disaster.
“When this facility is done, it will provide state-of-the-art training designed for today's and tomorrow's first responders and soldiers, and will give them the best training they need to serve our communities for decades to come ,” Staly said. “When you train, and when you train together, you perform better individually and as a team for our communities.”
