MCAGCC 29 Palms, CA Installation Guide

Welcome to the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center and the High Desert. The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (aka The Combat Center) is located in the Morongo Basin which stretches from approximately Interstate 10 to Interstate 40. Within the Morongo Basin are located the towns of Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms, the largest being Yucca Valley. The Combat Center occupies 932 square miles, or 596,000 acres of the southern Mojave Desert. The Combat Center is three-quarters the size of Rhode Island and is located one hour north of Palm Springs, Ca. Proximity to Major Metropolitan areas or Recreational areas:

Big Bear, CA - 113 miles, Colorado River - 78 miles, Palm Springs, CA - 64 miles, Los Angeles, CA - 158 miles, San Diego, CA - 177 miles, Laughlin, NV - 168 miles, Las Vegas, NV - 213 miles.

A move to a new community always means learning your way around and finding out what is available. Please visit or call Community Support, Information & Referral (Bldg 1551)760-830-6344, to obtain updated information on resources available for you and your family.

Major Commands

The major commands aboard the Combat Center are Marine Corps Communications-Electronics School, 7th Marine Regiment (REIN), Combat Service Support Group-1, MWSS 374, 1st Tank Battalion, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 23rd Dental Company, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron One (VMU 1), Delta Co. 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion, Headquarters Battalion and Naval Hospital.

Mission

The mission of the Combat Center is to develop, administer and evaluate the Marine Corps' Combined Arms Training Program. The mission of MCCES is to train personnel in electronics and computers.

The population assigned to the Combat Center is 9,723, Active Duty members, 8,588 dependents, and approximately 1,398 civilians.

The telephone information number to obtain command listing and phone numbers to the various facilities aboard the Combat Center is (760)830-6000 DSN: 957-6000.

All official activities aboard the Combat Center have an area code and prefix of (760)830-xxxx unless otherwise noted. All off base, local activities have an area code of (760).

History

The land has a history of military use dating back to 1940 when the Army used the area for training glider crews. When glider training ended in 1943, the Army switched to training fighter pilots. At the end of World War II the Navy used the area as a bombing range until 1945 when it was transferred to San Bernardino County. In 1952 the Marine Corps took charge and was designated Headquarters Marine Corps Training Center and in 1957 it was commissioned as a Marine Corps Base. In 1979 the base finally became what we know it as today, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.

Residents of 29 Palms have inherited a history that was first recorded nearly 130 years ago during the original exploration of what later became 29 Palms by Colonel Henry Washington. He found Chemehueiv and Serrano Indian tribes living in the surrounding hills and near the spring they called "Marrah", or land of little water, now known as the Oasis of Mara. These tribes which existed since times un-known, held to their villages even as gold prospector's flowed into the Oasis in the 1870's to camp and replenish water supplies. By 1913, the natives had almost disappeared. It is said that 29 Palms was named for the number of large, fine palm trees once found in the middle of the Oasis of Mara. The recording of 29 is attributed by various authorities to either Colonel Washington or to the gold miners. In the summer of 1885, however; a survey team counted only 26. Not withstanding, 29 Palms is what the community is known as today.