PHOTOS: Senator Peters Tours Detroit Olympia Armory to Highlight Ongoing Facility Improvements to Better Accommodate Women Servicemembers

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) toured the Michigan National Guard’s Detroit Olympia Armory to highlight the ongoing facility improvements being made on site to better accommodate women servicemembers. National Guard armories provide spaces for servicemembers to conduct trainings and carry out missions with access to the necessary equipment and logistical resources. Many armories were first designed for an all-male force, however, women servicemembers now make up nearly 18 percent of the Michigan Army National Guard. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Peters secured nearly $26 million in federal funding last year for the National Guard Bureau to modernize armories across Michigan, including $2,570,000 specifically for upgrades at the Detroit Olympia Armory. During the event, Peters underscored how providing adequate facilities for women servicemembers will help bolster recruitment as well as Michigan’s defense capabilities.

“The growing the number women in our Armed Forces makes us stronger and better prepared to tackle the challenges of the future,” said Senator Peters, a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. “As more women enter the National Guard, we must modernize facilities to ensure they have the same resources and opportunities as their male counterparts. These needed upgrades will ensure that women serving at the Detroit Olympia Armory have the appropriate and up-to-date amenities they need to effectively carry out their missions.”

“Modernizing our Michigan National Guard armories is a testament to Senator Peters’ commitment to improving the lives of service members and their families,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Our National Guard armories are the cornerstone of our local communities, where thousands of Soldiers live, work and serve every day.”

Peters included a provision in the annual bill to fund the Department of Defense that directed the National Guard Bureau to allocate modernization funding to update armories for women facilities like showers, bathrooms and lactation rooms. Peters then secured an increase of $75 million in modernization funding – nearly $26 million of which he secured specifically for upgrading Michigan’s military installations and helping start projects that are shovel-ready. Peters also led a call for the National Guard Bureau to match the $55 million allocated by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the State of Michigan for modernization efforts. During his annual motorcycle tour across Michigan this year, Peters also toured the Michigan National Guard’s Grand Valley Armory in Wyoming to see similar upgrades being made to the armory’s showers, bathrooms, and lactation rooms to better accommodate women servicemembers. 

As the son of a World War II veteran and a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Peters is committed to supporting our nation’s servicemembers and veterans. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Peters has repeatedly helped advance and pass into law strong national defense bills to bolster U.S. national security. Peters again helped craft and advance the annual defense legislation this year, where Peters secured funding and provisions to specifically support Michigan’s military installations and robust defense sector, improve our nation’s long-term strategic efforts to combat aggression by adversaries like China and Russia, and give our servicemembers a pay raise.  

In 2021, Peters was inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor for his efforts to support our nation’s veterans and military. In 2017, Peters was recognized as Legislator of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans of America for authoring the bipartisan Fairness for Veterans Act, which was signed into law as part of the national defense bill. The legislation requires veteran discharge review boards to give liberal consideration to petitions for honorable discharge status if the servicemember has been diagnosed with PTSD, TBI or other related conditions connected to their military service. As of the fall of 2020, more than 1,500 veterans have had their discharges upgraded since his legislation was enacted. Last year, Peters helped enact into law the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act – which delivered VA health care and benefits to all generations of toxic-exposed veterans – and their survivors – for the first time in our nation’s history.

To download photos from Peters’ event in Detroit, click HERE.

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