SEAGOVILLE, Texas — Inadequate storage facilities have long put vital military medical supplies at risk for some Texas service members.

Just last year, the Army Reserve Center in Seagoville was a warehouse completely filled with cages, but not anymore. It’s a new, up-and-running biomed shop, and it’s the first of its kind in the state of Texas and the U.S.

Army Staff Sgt. Tyron Deberry has been stationed at the Seagoville Armed Forces Reserve Center, just southeast of Dallas, for less than a year and is still adjusting to the recent update to their supply warehouse.

“It’s not common in a reserve base,” said Deberry.

This spring, the Army Reserve Medical Maintenance Facility officially opened at the center. 

It was years in the making for this location, and it couldn’t come at a better time for Deberry and his fellow reservists.

“We actually need something like this. We need the room to be able to work in. We definitely need to make sure the equipment is safe when it’s with us,” said Deberry.

Before these air-conditioned rooms were created, reservists worked on medical military equipment in the warehouse during the triple-digit Texas summers.

And remember, these are some of the medical equipment deployed overseas when active-duty service members need support. 

“It’s just, when it comes to excessive temperatures, it may cause damage absolutely, and then operating within those higher temperatures could also cause issues with capabilities of those devices,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Douglas Sires,who is the command chief warrant officer of the 807th Theater Medical Command.

The new facility is the only location in the U.S. for reservists, and Texas was picked as the launching pad.

“When the full program is in full operational capability, Seagoville is gonna have roughly a five-to-six state area of responsibility, we call it. Those states are kinda down in the southwest. So, one for their location they were selected and then two for the capabilities they have at that location,” said Sires.

Not only does the facility store medical equipment, but the reservists will also be able to fix it if needed.

“Medical equipment is very expensive, so it actually is a huge cost savings for the military for us to be able to perform those checks and also repair the medical equipment,” said Deberry.

Texas may have been the first location for this type of facility, but it won’t be the last. There are plans to expand in Milwaukee this fall and Sacramento in the future.