Photo By Sgt. Brendan Mullin | U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jarren Eagn, left, and Sgt. Trevor Hansen, both Reserve Marines...... read more read more
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Beneath the snowy peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, Marines with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, were on the move to a new Homesite Training Center at Camp Williams later this year.
Fox Co.’s relocation to Camp Williams is prime example of Marine Forces Reserve’s ongoing efforts to optimize the force laydown by divesting obsolete, aging infrastructure and invests in areas favorable to recruiting, that fully meets unit facility requirements and offers local training opportunities that ensures Reserve readiness. This will regularly facilitate high-quality training, directly resulting in an improvement to the Marine Corps Total Force.
Previously, the Marines with Fox Co. were based at a Navy Reserve Center at Fort Douglas, a military-installation-turned-college-campus.
Fort Douglas, previously an Army installation, was closed in 1991 following an earlier Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendation, turning over most of installation’s territory to the University of Utah. Despite the closure of much of the facilities there, Fox Co. remained, making it one of the few tenant units aboard the divested miliary installation.
“The opportunity came up [for us to move] when Charlie Company [4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion] moved to Boise, Idaho,” said Maj. Matthew Altomari, the Inspector Instructor with Fox Co., 2/23. “It gave us the opportunity to move into a spot that we are already often training at.”
The relocation will increase training opportunities by reducing the distance a Marine travels to drill. Additionally, conducting training aboard the homesite installation will reduce costs associated with logistics and transportation, as well as provide higher priority for access to training areas. This includes direct access to live-fire and non-live fire training areas, a Leadership Reaction Course, a pool to conduct water survival training, virtual and simulated training environments, billeting suitable for the entire unit and is co-located aboard an installation with National Guard training units presenting opportunities for a Joint training environment.
Fox Co.’s new, but familiar home, located at Camp Williams, was already the site for many of their training exercises. According to Altomari, the company was already completing many of their 1000- and 2000-level training and readiness tasks— the most basic level tasks a company of Marine infantry should be able to accomplish— at Camp Williams.
“The facility at Camp Williams is better suited for infantry needs,” said Sgt. Trevor Hansen, a Reserve Marine with Fox Co., 2/23 from Orem, Utah. “Salt Lake City and the area around the University of Utah campus doesn’t have a lot of area for us to maneuver or do things like force-on-force, stuff we’re already doing down at Camp Williams anyways. It just makes sense for us to move down there if we’re already doing our training there.” Additionally, the current site does not support the use of simulated training environments, access to alternate training venues, lodging or large full-unit classrooms.
“It also gets us closer to Dugway Proving Ground,” said Altomari.
Dugway Proving Ground, an Army installation comparable in size to Rhode Island, is where Fox Co. conducts the rest of their training.
However, proximity to training areas was just half of the equation when making the decision to move to Camp Williams.
“It’s a significant improvement,” said Altomari. “[At the Navy Reserve Center at Fort Douglas,] we essentially have one hallway for the Marines to use.”
As tenants of a Navy facility, the Marines were provided space the Navy could afford to turn over, resulting in tight quarters for both services to operate from.
“The facility at Camp Williams is a dedicated Marine building that can house a whole infantry company,” said Altomari.
With a dedicated facility that can house the entire company, the Marines of Fox Company can focus their efforts on training to ensure unit readiness. This contributes to an overall improvement in the Marine Corps Total Force's ability to respond when called upon.
| Date Taken: | 04.27.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.05.2023 15:21 |
| Story ID: | 445561 |
| Location: | SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, US |
| Hometown: | OREM, UTAH, US |
| Hometown: | SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, US |
| Web Views: | 929 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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