Camp Shelby facts for kids
Camp Shelby is a very large military training area in Mississippi, USA. It's located near Hattiesburg. It's the biggest training site in the country that is owned by a state. During times of war, Camp Shelby becomes a major place where soldiers get ready to go overseas.
This huge training center covers about 136,000 acres (550 square kilometers). That's big enough for soldiers to practice moving around in large groups. They can also practice shooting big guns like artillery. Many support buildings are also on site.
Camp Shelby is where National Guard and Reserve units from Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee usually train each year. But military units from all over the country come here to use its facilities. The training center was first set up during World War I and has been used almost constantly since then. It trains soldiers from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
What is Camp Shelby?
Camp Shelby is a massive training ground for the United States military. It's known for being the largest state-owned and operated field training center in the country. Soldiers train here with powerful vehicles like the Abrams M1 Tank and Paladin Howitzers. Each year, as many as 100,000 military personnel train at Camp Shelby.
History of Camp Shelby
Camp Shelby was created in 1917. It was named after Isaac Shelby, a hero from the Revolutionary War and the first governor of Kentucky. The first soldiers to train here, from the 38th Division, chose the name.
In 1934, the state of Mississippi bought the land for the National Guard to use as a summer camp. Because of its good weather, location, and varied landscape, Camp Shelby was reopened in 1940 as a federal military base. Many different Army divisions trained here, including the 31st, 37th, 38th, and 43rd Divisions.
During World War II, famous units like the Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Battalion trained at Camp Shelby. You can see their story in movies like Go For Broke! (1951) and Only the Brave (2006). Women's Army Corps (WAC) units also trained here. The base even had a hospital for recovering soldiers and a camp for prisoners of war, including German soldiers from the famous Afrika Korps. Today, the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum at Camp Shelby tells the story of the base.
Camp Shelby closed briefly after World War II. During the Korean War, it was used as an emergency rail center. In 1956, it became a permanent training site. Over 5,000 troops got ready at Camp Shelby for operations during Desert Storm.
The 199th Light Infantry Brigade trained at Camp Shelby in 1966 before going to Vietnam. This was the only combat unit to train here during the Vietnam War.
On June 6, 2004, Camp Shelby became a major mobilization center for the FORSCOM. Since then, many Army units, including Regimental and Brigade Combat Teams, have prepared for deployment here. These include units from Tennessee, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Louisiana, Idaho, New York, and Georgia.
U.S. Navy Seabee units, who are military construction workers, also use Camp Shelby for their field training exercises.
Camp Shelby is also home to the Youth Challenge Academy. This program helps high school dropouts (ages 16-18) earn their GED or high school diploma. It's run by the National Guard Bureau and has a military-like structure.
In 2007, the Air National Guard opened a new combat training runway at Camp Shelby. This special runway, called Shelby Auxiliary Field One, is one of only two places in the world designed for C-17 Globemaster III planes to practice short landings.
Camp Shelby also serves as a training facility for the Mississippi State Guard.
Mobilization Support
Camp Shelby helps many military units get ready for their missions. Here are some examples:
- The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from the Tennessee Army National Guard prepared here twice for deployments to Iraq, in 2004 and 2009.
- Battalions from the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the 121st Field Artillery Regiment (United States) of the Wisconsin Army National Guard mobilized for Iraq and Kuwait in 2005.
- The 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard got ready for Iraq in 2008.
- The 168th Engineer Brigade mobilized from Camp Shelby for its deployment to Afghanistan in 2009.
- The 136th Military Police Battalion (IR) from the Texas Army National Guard prepared for Afghanistan in 2009.
- The 256th Infantry Brigade from the Louisiana Army National Guard mobilized for Iraq in 2010.
- The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the Oklahoma Army National Guard prepared for Afghanistan in 2011.
- The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the New York Army National Guard and the 4th Battalion 118th Infantry Regiment from the South Carolina Army National Guard mobilized for Afghanistan and Kuwait in 2012.
