GLENVILLE — Today's opening of the Armed Forces Reserve Center at the Schenectady County Airport was steeped in tradition.

An honor guard of Army, Navy and Marine Corps personnel, their dress uniforms bedecked with ribbons and medals, displayed service flags and the flag of the United States. Another contingent, consisting of officers and a Marine master sergeant, raised the flag during the National Anthem.

Capt. John E. Cole, commander of the Navy Reserve Region Mid-Atlantic Component Command, said the center’s opening represents the closing of one chapter and the opening of a new one.

The Albany Reserve Training Center, housed in an armory, had been in operation since 1956; it was the first joint reserve training center in the United States, Cole said. The military is closing down armories throughout the United States because they are inefficient training facilities, are expensive to operate and maintain and are not secure.

The new center is a state-of-art facility that will serve as a consolidated training and armory facility for 12 Navy Reserve units and one Marine unit currently based in Albany, four Navy units in Glens Falls and two Army units in Schenectady. It also will be used for recruitment.

The center will employ 40 people full time, including administrative and medical staff, and Seabees, the Navy’s engineering arm.

The training center, situated on 18 acres off Route 50 in Glenville, includes a 4,400-square-foot vehicle maintenance facility and parking for 420 vehicles. The facility features a 30-foot-tall red brick facade with concrete masonry accents and mansard roof. It contains a dozen classrooms and room for physical fitness, military training and storage, as well as administrative space.

The facility cost more than $14 million to build, with another $6 million spent on equipment.

Cole said the center is more than just a training facility. He called it a “community node,” meaning staff there will provide assistance and support to service personnel and their families.

“Facilities like this make the team one. They are gateways for the armed services,” Cole said.