United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility facts for kids

A huge German World War II railway gun, nicknamed "Leopold" and "Anzio Annie"

The United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility is a special place where old military equipment is kept. It's not a regular museum for everyone to visit. Instead, it's used to teach and train soldiers about different types of military gear. This facility moved to Fort Gregg-Adams in Petersburg, Virginia. Before that, it was called the U.S. Army Ordnance Museum and was located at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. That old museum closed in September 2010.

History of the Training Facility

The main goal of the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center is to collect and keep important military equipment. This includes weapons, vehicles, and other supplies. They want to show how U.S. military equipment has changed over time. This history goes all the way back to the American Colonial Period.

How the Museum Started

The museum first opened in 1919. It officially welcomed visitors in 1924. Its first job was to show off equipment captured from enemies. It was located at Building 314 on the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The U.S. Army ran it until 1967. Being at Aberdeen Proving Ground was helpful. It was easy to get new equipment there after World War I for testing.

In 1965, some local people started a group called the Ordnance Museum Foundation, Inc. This group wanted to help run the museum. They are not part of the U.S. Army or the Department of Defense. The Foundation started helping with the museum in the early 1970s. They moved it to Building 2601 at Aberdeen Proving Ground. They continued to run it until it closed in September 2010.

Why the Facility Moved

In 2005, a law called Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) was passed. This law decided that some military bases and facilities needed to move. One of the things that had to move was the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School. The Ordnance Museum also had to move to Fort Lee. All these moves were supposed to be finished by the end of 2011. The process of moving the old equipment from Aberdeen to Fort Lee began in August 2009.

Who Can Visit?

The collection of equipment at Fort Lee is used only for training soldiers. It is not open for the public to visit. Only soldiers with specific job codes are allowed to enter. These job codes are 89, 91, or 94 series MOS.

Cool Equipment on Display

Here are some of the large pieces of equipment you can find outside at Fort Lee:

• M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle
• 12-inch gun M1895 on a railcar
• Pershing 1 Field Artillery Missile System
• A 1939 Armored Recovery Vehicle
• The T-12 Cloudmaker demolition bomb

See also

• Kubinka Tank Museum – A tank museum in Russia
• Musée des Blindés – A tank museum in France
• The Tank Museum – A tank museum in the United Kingdom
• Deutsches Panzermuseum – A tank museum in Germany
• Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History – A tank museum in Belgium
• Base Borden Military Museum – A tank museum in Canada
• American Heritage Museum – A private American tank museum