Virginia National Guard closing Richmond’s Dove Street Armory

The Virginia National Guard is closing its Dove Street Armory in Richmond because of state budget cuts.

The move means about 375 soldiers will report to other Guard facilities in the area for their one-weekend-a-month duty assignments, said Virginia National Guard Maj. Cotton Puryear.

The closing, along with the shutdown of the Guard's Roanoke armory, will save $115,000 a year.

"The decision to close the facility in Richmond was not an easy one, but it made the most sense given our current location of units," Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman Jr., adjutant general of Virginia, said in a statement.

The closing means:

• Headquarters, 91st Troop command, with about 40 soldiers, will be based at Sandston;

• Headquarters Company and A Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, with about 175 soldiers, will be based in Bowling Green;

• Headquarters element, 1710th Transportation Company, with 65 soldiers, will relocate to Petersburg; and

• A Company, 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, with 95 soldiers, will be based at Sandston.

Soldiers who have to drive more than 50 miles to their new duty station can ask for a reassignment. -- David Ress