Air National Guard Breaks Ground in Tahlequah for Cherokee Veterans Housing Project

The Air National Guard broke ground Monday on a housing project for Cherokee Veterans.  

It is part of a program meant to help military members sharpen their skills while meeting a need in the community. 

A wide-open field south of Highway 62 and just off Bald Hill Road in Tahlequah will eventually be home to Cherokee veterans, after the Air National Guard chose the Cherokee Nation as a recipient of the Guard's IRT program. 

IRT stands for Innovative Readiness Training. The goal is to give military members training they can use in wartime missions, and help the community at the same time. 

"I'm a Guard bum so this is what I do. I kind of travel around on orders and just do whatever, wherever, whenever, and in between I go home and work on the farm,” Kansas Air National Guard MSgt Brett Shouse said.  

Shouse is a heavy equipment operator. He has served four tours overseas and said the work done during IRT projects makes a difference in more ways than one.  

"So that's where experience comes in. ‘Hey, I did this in Tahlequah, and what we're doing here in Afghanistan is kind of similar.’ You know, concrete's concrete, dirt is dirt, to a certain extent,” Shouse said.  

States like Alaska, Tennessee, Idaho and Maryland will also be represented, alongside Oklahoma guardsmen.  

MSgt. Mitchell Sisco is the Operations Manager for the Air National Guard IRT Program. He said a total of 800 guardsmen and reservists will do two-week rotations during the first year of construction. The goal is to build seven homes in that time. 

"There is a homeless problem in this country for veterans. The trends are moving in the right direction, but we've got more work to do,” Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said during a ceremonial groundbreaking event.  

He is proud the Cherokee Nation was chosen in a competitive application process, for a three-year project that will eventually provide 21 homes to Cherokee veterans. 

It is unclear at this point if veterans will be able to move into the homes in phases, or need to wait until all construction is complete. The Cherokee Nation Housing Authority will manage the subsidized housing program.