Kansas National Guard troops no longer have to spend months in another state training before overseas deployments.

They do most of that training in Kansas, thanks to millions of dollars spent on new facilities in the last few years.

In October 2007, the 161st Field Artillery became the first unit to undergo pre-deployment training at the Great Plains Joint Regional Training Center near Salina. The 161st was able to stay in Kansas for an extra 45 days of deployment training. It then moved to Texas for final training before heading to Iraq.

In previous years, Kansas Guard units had to travel to other states – primarily Texas – for virtually all of their pre-deployment training because their home state didn’t have the necessary facilities. The ability to train in Kansas cuts down on pre-deployment time and allows the soldiers to get on with their mission abroad and thus return home sooner.

“Travel time is not training time,” Guard commander Maj. Gen. Tod Bunting said.

The 287th Sustainment Brigade from Wichita has been training at the center this spring and summer.

“That has made them much readier to deploy and it will cut their pre-deployment time,” Bunting said. “We’re very pleased with how this has worked.”

The training is necessary because in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars Guard units have been sent to conduct missions that are different from what they were historically designed to do, Bunting said.

The state provided $9 million for Great Plains. That includes $5.1 million for Crisis City, a 66-acre mock city where the Guard and state emergency management first responders can train for disasters. Another $1.6 million in federal funds also was allocated for building projects at the center.