Photo By Sgt. Levi Schultz | Marines previously stationed aboard Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center,...... read more read more
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The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is unforgiving as it is beautiful. Tracing California’s eastern border, the range boasts the tallest summit within all of the continental United States and the largest alpine lake in all of North America. Northeast of Yosemite National Park, carved out of granite on the 38th parallel, is the Marine Corps’ most austere and remote of duty stations; a place from which generations of Marines have been forged into mountaineers, the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif.
MWTC held an anniversary celebration September 22, 2016, after 65 years of commitment to ensuring Marines are truly prepared to fight in any clime or place. Marines from throughout the decades came for the anniversary commemoration, which began with a welcome address from Col. James E. Donnellan, commanding officer, MWTC,
“Marines are always keenly aware of their history and this place has a very unique and special history,” Donnellan said. “From the days of cold-weather training that was just a two and a half or three day excursion into the hills of Big Bear, to Lt. Col. Hubbard scouting out and choosing the site of what became MWTC here in Pickel Meadows, we are aware of our history and grateful to have our guests here today to help share in that and to share their memories of their time here.”
Following the Chosin Reservoir Campaign in North Korea, where U.S. troops incurred a disproportionate amount of casualties due to exposure and cold weather related conditions, what was then called the Cold Weather Battalion was established in 1951 and allowed Marines to receive cold weather indoctrination prior to replacing troops in Korea. Sitting at 6,600 feet of elevation, with surrounding summits reaching 11,000 feet and an average snow-depth of 10 to 25 feet, Pickel Meadows was certainly a location where personnel could be thoroughly schooled in mountaineering skills, tactics and survival techniques.
Not long after, a young Marine by the name of Pfc. Orlo K. Steele reported for duty to the rugged snow-covered post, having just completed boot camp and infantry training. Never would he have imagined that he would spend so much of his career there and that more than 60 years later he would be standing in an auditorium at MWTC as retired Maj. Gen. O.K. Steel, serving as the guest of honor during the center’s 65th anniversary.
“I am frequently asked, having served 35 years as a United States Marine, ‘what was your best duty station?’ and that’s an easy one for me,” Steele said. “I’ve always said that it’s the Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif.”
Steel, a man who literally wrote the book on MWTC, was also honored at the command library for donating books to the library from his personal collection. The day’s events also included a display of military vehicles, lunch with the troops at the mess hall, and a training demonstration at Levitt Training Area.
“We are very fortunate that Maj, Gen. Steele has donated the vast majority of his library, which has become the vast majority of our library, 999 books,” Donnellan said. “His collection has become the basis of the Mountain Warfare Training Center’s library.”
Over the years, MWTC has evolved into what is an unmatched venue for Marines to develop self-confidence to operate on trying terrain or in an extreme climate. The training offered in Bridgeport began changing with the expansion of capabilities in 1963 after the Korean War and moved on to focus on training Marines and operational units for deployments on NATO's northern flank in the 1980’s. Eventually, curriculum was once again adapted to support fighting the Global War on Terrorism, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. For years, MWTC has trained Marines to adapt and overcome and today’s mountain warfare training packages must challenge Marines to operate in those same harsh conditions while also facing new challenges.
MWTC stands out from other mountain warfare training offered throughout the Department of Defense, not only in the individual skillset it imparts on students, but through its ability to support multiple service-level training packages each year.
“Even today, the training center is still quite unique in the DoD,” said Steve Gardner, academic director, MWTC. “It’s the highest altitude topography of any of the training areas and mountain warfare schools and it’s the only one that does service-level exercises. All the others are formal schools and, although they model after us to a certain extent, they don’t have near the throughput or diversity in specialized schools.”
As the years go on, the curriculum may adapt and be optimized, just as Marines are accustomed to, but the terrain will not and because of this the formidable challenges found only when forced to endure this unrelenting piece of the Sierra Nevada have remained for the past 65 years.
“The training here in Bridgeport is integral to our success as a Marine Corps,” said Maj. Paul Mann, operations officer, MWTC. “At this location, we train Marines to fight in extremely austere conditions, in high altitudes and mountainous and cold weather environments. This is how the Marine Corps holds itself to the standard of fighting and winning wars in every clime and place.”
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2016 23:00 |
| Story ID: | 211092 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER BRIDGEPORT, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 303 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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