The Nebraska National Guard announced late last week that they're planning on closing readiness centers in Lexington and Ogallala.

Officials say the centers will be closed by the end of September.

"Obviously this is a difficult decision for us to make, these two communities have supported the National Guard for decades, and we appreciate that support," said Major Kevin Hynes. "However, it's also a necessary decision based upon the US Army's plans to transform transportation companies."

The Guard says the Detachment 1, 1195th Transportation Company in Lexington has an assigned strength of 36 soldiers, and the Detachment 2, 1074th in Ogallala has only 18.

To make Nebraska's Guard more efficient and viable, Hynes says they'll be transferring those soldiers to the nearby Kearney, McCook, Sidney, and North Platte units.

"What we're looking at is a change in the structure of the unit, but the overall strength of these two units aren't going to change," Hynes said. "The number one message is that we're going to take care of soldiers affected by this transformation, no soldier's going to lose their position."

Lexington's mayor says the closure of their readiness center didn't come as a surprise because National Guard officials were in touch with them during the decision process.

"I don't see a significant [impact on the community] no," said John Fagot, Mayor of Lexington. "An impact, yes, and you always like to see that [stay in the community], but I guess I would like to also state after meeting with leadership I'm glad that they're looking at budgetary concerns and also service concerns and they've looked at that very carefully."

Most people 10/11 and Nebraska Central News spoke with in downtown Lexington didn't have strong feelings about the closure, but some say they're sorry to see it go.

"I was kind of saddened to hear that we were going to lose that," said resident Deb Sund. "It's been a foundation of Lexington for many years and many generations of people have gone through that and so I think it's been a very positive part of Lexington."

Guard leaders say the facilities themselves will be turned over to the state after September. After that a decision will be made on what to do with the buildings and the grounds.

Nebraska Adjutant General Major General Judd Lyons has said the reassignment won't impact the Guard's ability to respond to any state or federal emergencies.