Governor Kaine Announces Partnership between Virginia National Guard, FEMA
– Federal Emergency Mgmt. Agency to store equipment at Fort Pickett –

BLACKSTONE – Governor Timothy M. Kaine announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Virginia Army National Guard have established a partnership to store FEMA travel trailers at Fort Pickett, the Guard installation located near Blackstone. The partnership will create 10 to 15 jobs refurbishing the trailers, with the potential for more jobs later.

Fort Pickett, home of the Virginia Army National Guard, sits on over 41,000 acres of land in Nottoway, Dinwiddie, and Brunswick counties.

“This partnership between the Virginia Army National Guard and FEMA offers several benefits,” Governor Kaine said. “Using an installation such as Fort Pickett results in lower operating costs for FEMA, and savings for the taxpayers. In addition, positioning these trailers in Virginia certainly brings them closer should they be needed by citizens of the Commonwealth after a disaster.”

Maj. Gen. Robert Newman, the Adjutant General of Virginia, said he wants to identify other opportunities in which the National Guard can strengthen its efforts in the area of homeland security. 

“Fort Pickett, in addition to providing excellent training facilities for the military, also supports training activities for law enforcement and other government agencies,” Maj. Gen. Newman said. “I look forward to working with other state and federal agencies to generate increased use of Fort Pickett.”

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