Camp Blanding facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Camp Blanding Joint Training Center |
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|---|---|
| Clay County, near Starke, Florida | |
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| Coordinates | 29°57′07″N 81°58′48″W / 29.9519°N 81.9799°W |
| Type | Military Reservation |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Florida National Guard |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1940 |
| In use | 1940–present |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | 53rd Infantry Brigade 3rd Battalion, 20th Special Forces |
Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is a big military base in Florida. It's the main place where the Florida National Guard trains. This includes both the Army and some parts of the Air National Guard. The base is located in Clay County, Florida, close to the city of Starke.
Camp Blanding is huge, covering about 73,000 acres (that's like 55,000 football fields!). It even includes a large lake called Kingsley Lake. Many different military groups use Camp Blanding for training. This includes other Reserve units and active-duty soldiers from the U.S. Armed Forces.
Students from college ROTC programs (like Army, Navy, and Air Force) also train here. For example, Jacksonville University and University of South Florida students have their orientation at Camp Blanding. Young people in the Civil Air Patrol also come here for their summer camp each year.
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Camp Blanding: A Training Hub
Camp Blanding is super important for the Florida National Guard. It's where most of their military units get ready for action. This includes the 53rd Infantry Brigade, which is a main combat group. It's also home to special forces units and aviation battalions.
What Happens at Camp Blanding?
Many different types of training happen at Camp Blanding. It's not just for soldiers!
- Some non-flying units of the Florida Air National Guard are based here.
- Law enforcement agencies in Florida also use it for training.
- It can even serve as a backup center for Florida in emergencies.
In 2008, Camp Blanding started hosting a special air assault course. This course teaches soldiers how to use helicopters to move quickly into battle. The base also has a bombing and shooting range for military aircraft. The Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force use this range.
Camp Blanding also has special training centers. The Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training offers free courses. These courses help police, state, and federal officers learn about fighting crime. Another center, the Combating Transnational Organized Crime Center of Excellence, teaches about stopping large criminal groups.
The FBI National Academy Associates Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) also takes place here. This summer program selects teenagers from Florida. It lets them learn from top law enforcement experts.
A Look Back: Camp Blanding's History
Camp Blanding has a long and interesting past. It was first created in 1939.
How Camp Blanding Started
The camp began as a training place for the Florida National Guard. Their old training base was taken over by the Navy. So, they needed a new spot! The new camp was named after Albert H. Blanding. He was a major general in the Florida National Guard.
Camp Blanding During World War II
When World War II began, Camp Blanding became a huge federal facility. Between 1940 and 1943, nine different U.S. Army infantry divisions trained here. An infantry division is a very large group of soldiers. Over 800,000 soldiers trained at Camp Blanding during the war. This made it one of the biggest training bases in the country.
During the war, Camp Blanding also held soldiers from other countries who were captured. These were mainly German soldiers. There was a small cemetery on the base for some of these soldiers who died. Their remains were later moved to another cemetery.
At one point, Camp Blanding was like the fourth-largest city in Florida! It had 10,000 buildings and 125 miles of paved roads. It even had the biggest hospital in the state. After the war, Camp Blanding continued to be an important military site.
In the 1970s, new runways were added for large C-130 Hercules aircraft. Training ranges for artillery and parachute drops were also reopened.
Explore the Camp Blanding Museum
The Camp Blanding Museum and Memorial Park opened in 1990. It's right outside the main entrance and anyone can visit for free! The museum is inside a restored World War II building. It shows off displays and items from Florida's military history, from World War I to today.
Outside, there's a memorial park where you can walk around. It has military vehicles and aircraft from different wars. There are also memorials for all the units that trained at Camp Blanding during World War II. You can see memorials for Florida National Guard members who died serving their country. There's even a "Firebase Florida," which looks like a Vietnam War artillery base.
The park displays American military machines. You can also see armored vehicles captured during the 1991 Gulf War and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Florida National Guard was part of both of these conflicts.
