Two Central Oregon National Guard armories are on the chopping block as state lawmakers look to slash nearly $4.8 million from the Oregon Military Department’s budget in an attempt to help the state tighten its belt.

Brig. Gen. Mike Caldwell, the department’s deputy director, said officials haven’t made any final decisions but are tentatively planning to cut more than 20 positions, reduce services and supplies and close four armories around the state. Those in Prineville and Redmond, which are home to three Oregon National Guard units, are on the list.

Caldwell said closing armories in four communities will have a big impact because the facilities provide a central location for Guard personnel and their families to get information, a large venue that can be rented out for private events and a hub for operations in the event of an emergency.

The cuts, which are part of the budget proposal released this week from the Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee, amount to an approximately 17 percent reduction in state funding for the department. About $1.4 million will come from the elimination of 14 maintenance positions related to the closure of the four armories, which will be selected from a list of eight. Along with the Prineville and Redmond facilities, the department is considering closing armories in Burns, Coos Bay, Lebanon, Milton-Freewater, Newport and St. Helens.

Caldwell said the department doesn’t want to close any armories, but unless it finds funding from other sources or makes cuts elsewhere, it doesn’t have any other options. He said making decisions about what to reduce is particularly difficult at a time when the Oregon Army National Guard has just begun its largest deployment since World War II, with nearly 3,000 soldiers headed to Iraq this summer.

“The adjutant general has directed me to get the staff to look at any other alternatives that do not close armories, but in lieu of these … the cupboard is pretty bare,” he said. “We recognize we’re like everybody else, and these are tough times, but most agencies don’t pull up 2,600 or 2,700 people and send them out to get shot at for a year.”

Over the next few weeks, Caldwell said officials will be taking a closer look at how much the department would save by closing particular armories — and how much it would stand to lose.

Many armories are rented out to private groups for large events, which brings in revenue that can be used to keep the facilities running. If the armories are closed and maintenance staff laid off, Caldwell said the department would lose out on that money.

In addition, Caldwell said budget reductions at the state level could also mean major cuts to the federal funding the department receives, because that money often requires matching funds.

Officials said the decisions about which armories will be closed will be made after considering each facility’s age, condition and the impact it has on the community and the unit based there.

In Central Oregon, Caldwell said the Prineville Armory, which previously served as the Ochoco Youth Correctional Facility, might have a better chance of being saved because of how much money has been spent remodeling it over the last few years.

“We’ve put a lot of money into it to do that, a lot of federal money, so it’s not something we want to lose,” he said.

He said the Redmond Armory, on the other hand, could be at more of a risk for closure.

The facility is home to the Oregon Army National Guard’s Bravo Company, 3-116 Cavalry, which has 94 members. Capt. J.W. Lundell said local Guard personnel are paying close attention to the talks about budget cuts and are concerned that their facility could be closed.

“We are here for a base, a hub for any kind of national disasters or whatnot, if the community needs a place,” he said. “And also we have the family program as well — this is where families come by and can get information on (health insurance,) and benefits.”

Lundell said the Redmond Armory has four full-time staff members and is often rented for events like wedding receptions, which brings in additional revenue that’s divided up by the state. He said the armory is also the place where former military personnel can stop by to get more information about services they are entitled to. Shutting the facility’s doors, Lundell said, would have a major impact on the Redmond community. “It would be a big blow if that happened,” he said.

Officials at the Prineville Armory declined to comment on the proposed budget cuts. Two units operate out of Prineville: Company E of the Guard’s 3-116 Cavalry, which has 79 members, and Detachment 1 of the 234 Engineering Company’s 1249th Engineer Battalion, which has 60 members, Guard spokeswoman Kay Fristad said.

If either armory closed, Caldwell said the units housed there would probably have to be relocated to another facility — likely the Bend Armory, which houses the Oregon National Guard’s 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s 1st Squadron, 82nd Cavalry. The Bend unit has about 450 members. Bend is also home to the Guard’s Youth ChalleNGe program, which is not housed at the armory and also is not included on the current list of cuts.

Caldwell said closing an armory in any community can have a big impact, especially when it comes to getting residents to sign up or stay in the Guard.

“It’s pretty evident in my mind that when you close that local armory, people just don’t tend to stay in or join, so it does impact you in that respect.”

And he said losing an armory also means that communities won’t have the same access to services they’d need during a natural disaster or other major event.

“We’ve got a responsibility in this state for homeland security and emergency management, and when you start closing facilities, you’ve lost that touchstone,” Caldwell said.