The Indiana National Guard has opened a new $27 million training facility that is the largest of its 65 armories around the state.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and Indiana Adjutant General Martin Umbarger took part in a ceremony on Monday opening the new 169,000-square-foot facility in Franklin. Officials say more than 900 Guard soldiers will meet each weekend at the armory to train for combat and disaster assignments.

The new facility was paid for with federal funding and includes a two-story assembly hall, a fitness center, an auditorium and classrooms.

Umbarger told The Daily Journal that the armory's site near Interstate 65 will help with quick responses to disasters.