About Twentynine Palms - MCAGCC

Introduction

The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) is located in the southern Mojave Desert, one of the hottest and driest deserts in North America. It is the U.S. Marine Corps' largest training facility, occupying approximately 932 square miles (596,480 acres). The Center was established in 1952, when Marines from Camp Pendleton, while searching for a training facility which would allow them to perform live-fire of the newer, larger weaponry, came across old Camp Condor. Camp Condor was established in 1941 as an Army Glider School and operated until early 1943, when the mission changed to training Army pilots to fly motorized aircraft. In 1944, the Navy used the area for a bombing range. At the end of the World War II, Camp Condor reverted to the County of San Bernardino and remained inactive until the Marine Corps reactivated the facility in 1952.

Mission

The mission of MCAGCC is to develop, administer, and evaluate the Marine Corps' Combined Arms Exercise (CAX) Training Program. The program, developed to enable commanders and Marines to practice combat essentials skills, began in 1975 and allows for both brigade and battalion sized exercises. Currently, the Combat Center annually trains over one-third of the Marine Corps forces in live-fire and maneuver exercises. The operating procedures permit Marines training at the Combat Center to maneuver both on foot and mounted on vehicles through live-ordnance impact areas. It further permits most air and ground weapons commonly found in a Marine Air Ground Task Force to be employed closely, in accordance with current doctrine in a combined arms setting. Most importantly, the Center allows commanders to practice command control and combat essential skills of fire support coordination and fire maneuvers over a vast and challenging terrain. The Center, therefore, affords a unique opportunity for Marines to train in a realistic manner under conditions simulating combat situations. The Center is also home to the Marine Corps Communication-Electronics School (MCCESS). Its mission is to train personnel in electronic fundamentals, operational communications, air control/anti-air warfare operations, and communication electronic maintenance.

Population

The current population of the Combat Center is 17,603, comprised of 10,193 active military and 7410 dependents. There are 1435 civilian personnel aboard the installation in both appropriated and nonappropriated funds activities. As a training center, MCAGCC annually trains approximately 50-60,000 Department of Defense military personnel through the CAX program and 8000 Marines through MCCESS.

Location and Setting

MCAGCC is located in San Bernardino County, approximately 150 miles east of the city of Los Angeles and 40 miles north of the city of Palm Springs. It is four miles north of the city of Twentynine Palms, a community with a population of approximately 17,000. MCAGCC is the largest employer of the region and much of the industry in the area is geared towards providing support to the installation and its population. Joshua Tree National Park located seven miles to the south attracts many national and international tourists and is significant to the economy of the region. MCAGCC is divided into 22 training areas. Less than 10,000 acres are dedicated to facility infrastructure and the operations and maintenance of vehicles and equipment. All but four of training areas are available for live-fire training exercises. The Mainside area contains the majority of the infrastructure and is approximately 3500 acres. The Exercise Support Base (ESB), and the Expeditionary Airfield (EAF) located in the southern portion of the Gypsum Ridge Training Area, contain the bulk of the remaining acreage of developed resources aboard the installation. MCAGCC is located within the Basin and Range Province, and is situated between the Great Basin Desert to the north and the Sonoran Desert to the south. It is characterized by north/south trending mountains and hills, separated by broad alluvial plains and valleys, dry washes, and dry lakes. The Mojave Desert is similar to the Great Basin in that it has no external drainages to its basins. Drainages invariably terminate in dry lakebeds or playas. It is also similar to the Sonoran Desert to the south as its lower elevations foster warmer year-round temperatures than is typical to the Great Basin. Vegetation is, therefore, diverse; many species common to the Sonoran Desert are found interspersed with more northerly species, and these are in addition to species endemic to the Mojave Desert. The Combat Center is situated in one of the most arid portions of the Mojave Desert; receiving an average of between 2 to 6 inches of rainfall per year. Most of the rainfall occurs during the winter months, as a result of frontal storms that originate in the Pacific. MCAGCC is located in the rain shadow of the San Bernardino Mountains, so that winter storms frequently do not reach the area or are of diminished moisture. During the summer months, thunderstorms arise in the area as a result of moisture drifting north from Mexico. These storms can be torrential and often result in flash floods.

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