Greenville Tech, National Guard open joint use facility

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Greenville Technical College and the South Carolina Army National Guard have opened a shared facility at 915 Perimeter Road, in the S.C. Technology and Aviation Center. The 95,225-square-foot, silver LEED certified facility is situated on 14 acres across the street from the existing Greenville Armory and a facility used by Greenville Tech for aircraft maintenance technology since 1987.

Greenville Technical College’s aircraft maintenance technology program will use the facility mainly during the week, while the S.C. Army National Guard will use the facility primarily on weekends, according to a news release.

“Partnerships allow Greenville Technical College to serve our area’s employers as we ensure that students have the education needed to succeed,” said Keith Miller, Greenville Tech president, in the release. “This arrangement with the S.C. Army National Guard is one that we are particularly proud of, as it means that we come together to make optimal use of space, to meet a training requirement for Guard personnel, to give students the skills they can put to work right away, and to see that the aviation industry in our area is well supported.”

The new facility provides Greenville Tech with the opportunity to expand enrollment in the aircraft maintenance technology program. Training also will be offered to S.C. Army National Guard personnel, supporting their need for qualified airframe and powerplant technicians to work on Lakota helicopters. The training will be offered to the National Guard Bureau as a consolidated regional or national training solution, the release said.

The aircraft maintenance technology program at Greenville Technical College is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and provides students with the technical, mechanical and academic skills needed to become aircraft maintenance technicians, according to the release.

“Within this new facility, the S.C. Army National Guard and Greenville Technical College established a program that fulfills National Guard aircraft maintenance training requirements while addressing the civilian aviation workforce demand associated with South Carolina’s growing aerospace industry,” said Col. Andrew Batten, South Carolina state aviation officer, in the release. “Combining this National Guard Readiness Center housing multiple aviation units with the Aircraft Maintenance Technology program provides greater utilization of the facilities and thus greater value to our state. Additionally, this partnership will enable our soldiers to obtain an associate degree in addition to their FAA Airframe and Powerplant Technician certification. This program can be scaled to support regional National Guard training requirements and possibly nationwide requirements in the future.”