Photo By Christopher Ingersoll | Aged buildings due for renovation at Camp Umatilla... read more read more
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The federal government uses a process called Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) to constantly reassess the military’s space and training needs measured against best uses for budget. During recent BRAC changes, Camp Umatilla, located at the junction of I-84 and I-82, in Eastern Oregon, has been divided into parcels. One parcel will be turned into a wildlife conservation refuge. A second will become an industrial zone to aid in the economic growth of the area. The third portion of land will be taken over by the Oregon Department of Transportation with the remaining portion going to the Oregon National Guard for use as a training area with big plans for the future of the site.
The history of the Umatilla site dates back to 1940, when the Army selected a 16,000-acre plot of northeastern Oregon sage land for a new munitions depot and general supply storage. Construction work began in January 1941, and 10 months later, on October 14, 1941, officials opened the U.S. Army Umatilla Ordnance Depot, named for the Umatilla Native American Tribe. Workers transformed the prairie site into a complex of warehouses, munitions magazines, shops, and office buildings connected by a web of paved roads and railroad tracks - essential elements for shipping and receiving. The first ordnance shipment arrived on October 27, 1941. During its more than 70 years in operation, the depot grew to almost 20,000 acres and continued to support World War II, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, and Desert Storm.
In addition to its conventional ammunition and general supply missions, the depot received a new mission in 1962 - receiving and storing chemical ammunition. Between 1962 and 1969, the depot received various types of chemical ammunition.
The Oregon National Guard began utilizing the depot as a local training area in the early 1980s where it constructed and operated a number of small arms ranges and stored and maintained military vehicles. In 1988, the Depot was identified for realignment under BRAC, which relocated the depot’s conventional ammunition and general supplies missions to other U.S. depots and installations. As a result of the 1988 BRAC decision, the Oregon Military Department worked collaboratively with an Army appointed Local Redevelopment Authority that consisted of leadership from Umatilla County, Morrow County, Port of Umatilla, Port of Morrow, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in an effort to preserve a permanent training center that would accommodate the National Guard. These redevelopment planning efforts were reinvigorated by the decision to ultimately close the depot as a result of 2005 BRAC legislation.
Destruction of the chemical agents stored at the depot began in the fall of 2004 and the last stockpiled ton containers filled with mustard chemical agent were incinerated on October 20, 2011. The formal closing of the former Umatilla Chemical Depot occurred on August 1, 2012, and resulted in the Department of the Army declaring 19,729 acres of property as an excess to its future needs.
On November 27, 2017, The Adjutant General, Oregon, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a license that dedicates 7,500 acres of the former depot’s 19,729 acres as a new Oregon National Guard Training Center. This new training center will accommodate the weekend and annual training requirements of the Oregon National Guard as well as military units from other services. It is also home to the 249th Regional Training Institute (RTI). The 249th RTI is the Oregon National Guard’s premier training institute for forging exceptional leaders and is a leader in the nation for conducting infantry transition and advanced infantry leader training.
In anticipation of transforming the chemical depot to a new training center, the Oregon Military Department has recently invested $2 million in infrastructure improvements to the 1940s era installation and plans to invest another $25 million dollars in facility improvements over the next few years that include sewer line repairs, new water distribution system, road realignments, security fencing, administration and office space enhancements, new classrooms, as well as lodging and dining facility improvements.
Eric Manus, the senior project manager for the Camp Umatilla construction projects, is excited for the future of the site and has already laid a good amount of the infrastructure groundwork to support the future projects.
“A lot of the facilities and infrastructure out there haven’t been updated in decades if at all,” Manus said. “We have already been out there working projects to modernize the infrastructure so that we have a solid foundation for building renovations over the next several years.”
Melissa Burns, one of the project managers for the Camp Umatilla projects, said one of the key priorities as they begin to give the whole site a much needed modernization, is keeping with the Governor’s priorities and standards for the environment.
“The water out on the site comes from wells,” Burns said. “So we want to make sure that our renovations throughout the process reflect that the site is in a desert and that water is precious there.”
Jim Willeford, head of construction for the Oregon Military Department, said that balancing the needs of the Oregon National Guard with the needs of our neighbors and the historic value of the site is key to the building process.
“On one part of the former site, there is going to be a nature reserve,” said Willeford. “So as we train out there, we want to have plans in place so that we can balance getting our training done with having minimal impact on the surrounding land and wildlife. We also want to preserve some things like the old parade grounds for their historic value, but much of the vast manicured grassy areas of a bygone era are going to go and be restored to look like the desert that it is out there. This will save lots of water on irrigation alone.”
Willeford also said that the modernization has to be balanced with trying to preserve the sites historic structures.
“It will be a fun project for us to refurbish the old masonry buildings,” said Willeford. “Some of the buildings on that site go all the way back to WWII, and maintaining that heritage is really important for both the military and the local community.”
Dave Stuckey, deputy director of the Oregon Military Department, said he is very pleased with the direction that projects are going for Camp Umatilla.
“Being able to breathe new life into Camp Umatilla is a great investment for our agency, as it provides a way for us to train in a great environment and allows us to accommodate training for other military units throughout the country,” said Stuckey. “It also keeps with our larger goals of modernizing our facilities to make them better suited for modern war-fighting needs and support during times of emergency with greater care and consideration for the environment.”
| Date Taken: | 01.11.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.11.2018 16:29 |
| Story ID: | 261908 |
| Location: | HERMISTON, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 648 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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