History Fort Hunter Liggett

a sheridan m551a1 displayed within base near main entrance

land fort purchased in 1940 william randolph hearst (hearst castle down coast), , adjacent landowners. surrounded small unincorporated town of jolon, remains today in diminished form heyday.

fort hunter liggett under authority of camp roberts, california, southeast, until 1952, when became sub-installation of fort ord on monterey peninsula. 1970s through 1990s, base served 2 purposes — training area 7th light infantry division (based @ fort ord), , home usacdec (usually abbreviated cdec , later tec, training , experimentation command). mission of cdec evaluate new army , marine corps weapons systems providing simulated soviet mechanized rifle company act opfor , or opposing forces. method, sergeant york air defense gun found have serious flaws, while marine s lav vehicle validated. in 1993, in preparation of closure of fort ord due brac 1991, hunter liggett transferred army reserve, in turn made sub-installation of fort mccoy, wisconsin in 1995.

brac 2005

in 2005 base realignment , closure (brac) recommendations, department of defense recommended relocating 91st division parks reserve forces training area hunter liggett. in 2007, army created combat support training center @ fort hunter liggett , ramped training 300,000 man-days per year (predominately during summer), on 850,000 per year, year-round. while training centered around army reserve units preparing deployment, such provided army components (active, reserve, , guard), , air force, navy, marines, , foreign commands (the japanese ground defense force trained there in late 2007.) exercises held first year included pacific warrior , global medic, involved on 6,000 troops @ hunter liggett, , connections other units in locations across nation. army installation s garrison commander relocated camp parks hunter liggett in 2007, oversight camp parks , army units , housing remain @ former nas moffett field , b.t. collins reserve center in sacramento. significant training infrastructure improvements made including several tactical training bases (ttbs - analogous forward operating bases), wired shoot-house , improvements hardened landing strip capable of handling larger air force transport planes, , 7-mile live-fire convoy course, army s such training area capable of handing 360-degree fire .50 caliber. new army reserve center constructed , 91st division moved new headquarters building in may 2009. on 11 september 2010 new hq designated master sergeant robb g. needham army reserve center after first 91st division combat casualty since wwii.