Fort Irwin, CA Installation Guide

Fort Irwin is located approximately 37 miles northeast of Barstow, California in the High Mojave Desert midway between Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California. (See Must Know Items for travel directions).

The installation is surrounded by desert hills and mountains. Natural vegetation is sparse and consists of mesquite, creosote, yucca's, and other low growing plants. Beautiful sunsets, blue skies, sunny days and wide open vistas are some of the pleasures of the desert and give many a sense of freedom. Do, however, expect the primary colors to be tan and brown. For those needing to see green, Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead are two hours away providing tall trees and lakes.

Because Fort Irwin is a fairly small community, people living here get to know their neighbors. After a short period, visits to the commissary and post exchange (PX) are usually accompanied by a series of friendly "hellos". Children often live next door to their school mates, play on the same sports teams, or go to daycare together.

Fort Irwin maintains a small town atmosphere with town hall meetings and other community forums even though 4000-5000 soldiers from other installations rotate through the NTC each month.

The following information is meant to acquaint you with the Fort Irwin community and assist you in having a smooth move to the NTC. Keep in mind, moving is a stressful time for many people. Give yourself time to adapt to all the changes you will encounter.

The major command is FORSCOM.

MISSION

To provide realistic joint and combined arms training focused on developing soldiers, leaders, and units of America's Army for success on the 21st century battlefield. Additionally, the NTC provides a vital source of experience based information and data essential to doctrine, equipment, training and force development in order to improve the force.

Telephone Access

DSN 470-xxxx 760-380-xxxx (government) 760-386-xxxx (nongovernment)

HISTORY

On August 8, 1940, a Presidential order withdrew from public use almost 1,000 square miles of public land in the High Desert of Southern California. The land was established as the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Range and later named Camp Irwin in memory of Major General George Irwin, a World War I battle commander.

During World War II, Camp Irwin was used for training and served as an internment site for prisoners of war. In 1944, the camp was closed by the War Department and remained in caretaker status until 1951 when it was reactivated to become the home of the United States Army Armor and Desert Training Center. Ten years later in 1961, Camp Irwin became Fort Irwin.

Again in 1971, with the Vietnam war winding down, Fort Irwin was deactivated and eventually turned over to the State of California to train National Guard and Reserve Component soldiers. During this period, the Army began looking for a site to house a National Training Center and out of the eleven sites considered, Fort Irwin came out on top. In 1981, the installation was reactivated as the National Training Center and thus far its development has been nonstop. Today, it is considered to be the premier training site of the U.S. Army.