(RALEIGH) -- A dedication ceremony was held Friday for the North Carolina National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Raleigh. The top three floors of the building are occupied by the National Guard, while the bottom floor houses parts of the state Department of Transportation, Emergency Management and the Highway Patrol.

Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the NC National Guard Captain Rick Scoggins said that it's helpful for the National Guard to be in the same place as the other organizations. "This right here is what we call in the military a combat multiplier," he said. "And the reason that it is that way is because before, we had to get on the phone and call them downtown or link up and go through all the traffic headaches. But now, they're right downstairs. It helps that we have our finger on the pulse of what is going on at all times."

The 237,000 square foot building was funded mostly by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - a stimulus package designed to create job growth, target infrastructure development and spur economic activity.