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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The Weapons and Field Training Battalion held a ground breaking ceremony June 7 that revealed the beginning of several military construction projects at Edson Range, WFTBn, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The ceremony celebrated the start of five projects on Edson Range that have an estimated cost of $90 million and are being built to enhance the training experience for recruits and instructors alike.
“The new facilities will provide more storage, and will help improve the quality of training the recruits will receive while at Edson Range,” said Capt. Kathryn E. Baker, assistant logistics officer, WFTBn.
The five major projects included in the ceremony are field barracks, support facilities like a martial arts dojo, supply warehouse and target factory, a mess hall, an Indoor Simulated Marksmanship Trainer and two range houses.
“[The construction] will change perspectives of how we make Marines,” said Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Bailey, commanding general, Marine Corps Recruit Depot and the Western Recruiting Region. “Every Marine and recruit who goes through your building will gain something from that experience,” he added.
These construction projects required dozens of meetings to ensure contractors had sufficient information to place a bid.
Progress began in May once contracts were awarded and construction should be completed by October 2012.
The field barracks will be located near Ranges 501 and 505 near the Confidence Chamber and Team Shoot Event on the Crucible. They will be sparse in nature, only providing a roof over the heads of recruits and Recruit Training Regiment staff. However, it will improve the field experience by keeping them out of inclement weather.
The new mess hall will be the largest on Camp Pendleton, capable of supporting 3,374 personnel, compared to the current one that has a dining capacity of 2,532.
The new facilities will help Edson Range accommodate the growing recruit training mission by providing the space and equipment necessary to improve training, Baker explained.
Edson Range is home to four of the largest ranges on Camp Pendleton. Recruits receive instruction in rifle marksmanship, increase proficiency in common Marine Corps skills and complete their final test, the Crucible. Upon successful completion, recruits will earn the title Marine while aboard Edson Range.
“This is not just monumental, but historic,” said Bailey. “It’s changing the face of this camp and changing the way we make Marines.”
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2011 18:36 |
| Story ID: | 72031 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 542 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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