OKLAHOMA CITY – Leaders with the Oklahoma National Guard held a ceremony for the opening of the new Oklahoma National Guard Joint Operations Center, Thursday, in Chandler, Oklahoma.

“This facility is very important to Oklahoma,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Mancino. “I feel confident that this facility and this community will be a great position to serve as a hub for emergencies.”

The facility, named after the late Benjamin T. Walkingstick and constructed by Flintco, will serve as a collaborative mission command facility dedicated to supporting emergency response efforts across the state. It will be utilized by the Oklahoma National Guard Joint Force Headquarters during domestic responses such as fires, floods, tornadoes and more.

Equipped with essential resources, the facility will include critical equipment, backup power generation, and trained personnel to ensure effective management of any future state or federal emergency

“This is a full, tactical operation that supports the state of Oklahoma through domestic operations,” said Brig. Gen. Colby Wyatt, director of the joint staff, Oklahoma National Guard. “I think Oklahoma gets everything—tornadoes, floods, ice storms—all the things that the Oklahoma National Guard supports [can be] operated out of this joint operations center.”

The ceremony included representatives from U.S. Senators James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin, Oklahoma Senator Grant Green, and officials from the city of Chandler.

Also in attendance were members of the OKNG’s State Partnership Program partners—the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—including Chief of General Staff, Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed al-Ruwaili.