Military

Army Installations

An installation is an aggregation of contiguous or near continguous, common mission-supporting real property holdings under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense controlled by and at which an Army unit or activity is permanently assigned. The Army organizes installations using tables of organization and equipment, tables of distribution and allowance, and personnel resource documents. Installations, are designed to support America's Army. Activities on the installation receive installation support in accomplishing their missions. Examples of these are schools, hospitals, reserve component elements, and Army divisions. An installation can be compared to a civilian community or a city where people work, train, live, and play.

Installations provide more than simply a training area for the military community. Installations field, house, sustain, nurture, and care for the America's Army. They also provide for the interaction between force readiness, training, sustaining, and maintaining. Installation commanders must balance these requirements continuously to achieve the ultimate readiness of the force.

Installations also serve as the home for both the people and the families in the force. They provide the environment for the creation and maintenance of camaraderie and esprit de corps in the Army. They are essential to the Army socialization process because the instilling of Army traditions and values occurs at installations. Values such as commitment, honor, and courage prepare the Total Army force to cope with the sacrifices required from the Total Army family during times of crisis. Installations of excellence provide an environment that fosters the successful execution of missions. This is through the human dimensions of living, working, playing, and increasing individual potential.

All installation activities are key ingredients to the development of a well tuned and motivated fighting force. Examples of these activities are facilities engineering, housing, environmental, health support, recreation, community activities, and logistics operations. Unfortunately, the Army's installation management history shows that commanders treated many of these activities independently. Commanders must understand that all activities performed at an installation are interdependent.

The Army National Guard operates 3,360 owned and 141 leased armories in 2,700 communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the District of Columbia. In addition, the Army National Guard federally supports the operation and maintenance of more than 15,000 training, aviation, and logistical facilities located throughout the nation.

U.S. Army STRICOM (Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command) is responsible for melding battle strategy and tactics into the training objectives and exercises that guarantee combat ready troops. STRICOM manages all of the Army combat maneuver training centers in the US and Germany.

Three types of training areas lead to progressively higher levels of proficiency local training areas (LTAs), major training areas (MTAs), and combat training centers (CTCs). Home-station training is conducted on facilities under an installation's direct purview, usually limited by contiguous boundaries. LTA and MTA training conducted on the same piece of real estate is considered home-station training. Home-station training areas and ranges at Army schools use a combination of ranges and training devices or simulators to develop soldier and crew proficiency and to exercise small-unit mission-essential task list (METL) tasks. Units conducting training at MTAs concentrate on large-unit collective fire (platoon through battalion) and maneuver (battalion or brigade) training according to doctrinal strategies and standards. MTA training builds on the training proficiency achieved at LTAs. An MTA provides training to sustain lessons learned from CTC experiences that LTAs cannot tactically or doctrinally accommodate.

Deployments to Army combat training centers (CTC) provide soldiers with the best training in the world. Periodic rotations at these first-class facilities hone essential warfighting skills. At the National Training Center in California, the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana, and the Combined Maneuver Training Center in Germany, units conduct prolonged operations against a highly skilled opposing force and are observed by a professional cadre fully versed in the latest doctrine. Units complete these rotations at their highest levels of readiness, and are provided a comprehensive assessment to guide their future training.

The Army National Guard (ARNG) currently operates approximately 3,200 armories in 2,700 communities throughout the 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia. Among these are 25 Maneuver Training Centers and Major Training Areas.