CAMBRIDGE SPRINGS — Usually when talking to a soldier about a piece of Army equipment, there will be a list of ways to improve it as far as “the boots on the ground” are concerned.

But when Spec. Kirk Hinz of Erie was asked to comment on the Stryker Fighting Vehicle on Friday afternoon at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Cambridge Springs Readiness Center and Field Maintenance Shop, he had nothing but praise.

“It’s held up to what’s expected so far — and it’s getting better,” he said.

Hinz would know. He drove a Stryker when it was an experimental vehicle at Ft. Knox, Ky., in 2000.

The 10-year veteran has driven many vehicles in the Army’s inventory including the Humvee, and to Hinz, there’s no comparison.

“The Stryker is an easy, quick and effective deployment vehicle — it definitely has some power,” he said at the ceremony to bring a Stryker training facility to Crawford County. In the southeastern corner of Cambridge Springs, next to the Cambridge Springs State Correctional Institution, earth is already being moved to place the facility at the former Alliance College site. Nearly 75 people attended the event.

The new facility will be home to the National Guard’s only Stryker Brigade. Of the seven active Stryker Brigades, six are within the active components ranks.

Lt. Col. Jerome Miller, 1-112 Infantry battalion commander, welcomed everyone to the ceremony and acted as master of ceremonies.

Pennsylvania National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, was the first dignitary to make remarks regarding the historic event.

“Today is a great day for Cambridge Springs and the Pennsylvania National Guard. This hails the largest military construction program in the history of the Pennsylvania National Guard,” she said.

While the Cambridge Springs facility is the first, 10 new readiness centers are scheduled to be built across the state.

“It’s a huge economic impact to the state,” said Lt. Col. Marc Ferraro, who will be the Stryker Brigade commander upon completion of construction, which is scheduled for May 2008.

Soldiers such as Hinz have been attending special driving courses to be qualified to operate the 19-ton, eight-wheeled armored vehicle which will add a mobility factor that many officials feel U.S. forces need in the War on Terror. The entire brigade of 330 vehicles can be uploaded and deployed anywhere in the world within 96 hours, Ferraro said.

On training weekends, more than 400 National Guardsmen will converge on the facility for drills.

Republican state Sen. Bob Robbins, whose 50th District includes all of Crawford County, also addressed the crowd. “It’s a very exciting day. It’s a great tribute to the Pennsylvania National Guard to receive the only reserve Stryker Brigade, and you’re going to have the highest-caliber soldier driving it,” he said.