Augusta, Mich. -The Michigan National Guard will host a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house Nov. 7 at 9 a.m. at the new Fort Custer Education Center located in Augusta, Mich.

The 116,000 square foot education center offers a modern registration and check-in desk, 12 classrooms, a state-of-the-art auditorium, instructor and administrative offices, two conference rooms, a full service kitchen and dining hall, lounge areas, and 246 guest rooms. A unique feature of the building is its pentagon shape. An inner courtyard allows students to travel from one side of the center to the other and brings natural lighting into the hallways of the facility.

"Book ahead," said Col. Dwight Mickelson, Director of the Guard Facilities Management Office. "The training facilities at Fort Custer get a lot of use from military organizations from Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and various state and federal law enforcement agencies. The Lansing Community College Truck Driver Training Program and the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy also use Fort Custer facilities for training. It is a busy place."

A large stained-glass window mounted outside the auditorium honors the 126 defense employees and 58 airline passengers who were killed in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. The window is a duplicate of one that hangs in the Pentagon chapel. It is made of 300 glass pieces and five diamond-cut cement corners that were hand-carried from the Pentagon wreckage to Michigan specifically for this honorary purpose. The window will be unveiled and dedicated by Chaplin Ray Moore following the ribbon cutting.

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