On August 8, 1940, a Presidential order withdrew from public use almost 1,000 square miles of public land in the High Desert of Southern California.
The land was established as the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Gunnery Range. The area was designated as a subpost of Camp Haan, which was adjacent to what is now known as March Air Force Base in Riverside, California.
Two years later, the reservation received its official title of Camp Irwin, in memory of Major General George Leroy Irwin, a World War I battle commander of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade. Many famous units trained at Camp Irwin during World War II, including the Desert Commandos of North America fame. Additionally, the camp served as an internment site for the prisoners of war. In 1944, the camp was closed by the War Department and remained in a caretaker status until 1951 when Camp Irwin was reactivated to become home of the United States Armor and Desert Training Center.
In August 1961, 21 years after creation of the Mojave Anti-Aircraft Range, Camp Irwin received its first Fort status and the designation as a permanent, Class I United States Army Installation. In 1971, with the Vietnam War winding down and defense spending cutbacks, Fort Irwin was deactivated and placed in caretaker status under control of Fort MacArthur, California. In 1972, it was turned over to the State of California for use as a training area by the National Guard and reserve components.
In 1978, the future outlook for Fort Irwin brightened. The U.S. Army was looking for a site to house a National Training Center. The requirements were stringent. The NTC needed at least 400,000 acres for maneuver areas and ranges, It also had to have an uncluttered electromagnetic spectrum, airspace restricted to military use, and evolvable weather conditions. Eleven sites were given serious consideration. Fort Irwin came out on top, and on October 6, 1980, the National Training Center was activated. The activation of the NTC brought Fort Irwin back to the rolls as an active Army installation on July 1, 1981.
Fort Irwin is located 37 miles northeast of Barstow, California, and is under the control of the U.S. Forces Command, headquartered at Fort McPherson, Georgia. Approximately 4,000 active duty military personnel are assigned to the post, along with more than 5,500 family members who join them for tours which average four years. The installation also employs approximately 2,400 civilians. Units serviced by this installation are: 177th Armored Brigade; 1st Battalion, 63d Armor; 177th Forward Support Battalion; 171st Transportation/Movement Control Center; 1st Battalion, 52d Infantry; NTC Support Battalion, 259th Ordnance Detachment; Operations Group; Mobilization and Training Equipment Sites (MATES); Foreign Material Intelligence Battalion (FMIB); 4445th Tactical Training Squadron (USAF); U.S. Army Dental Command Activity (DENTAC); U.S. Army Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC); Fort Irwin Resident Agency; Sixth Region; USACIDC; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Area Office; U.S. Army Information Systems Command Detachment; DynaCorp and the NASA Goldstone Deep Space Tracking Station.
During my tenure as Chief, Personnel Processing Branch, the Army Community of Excellence Coin above was presented to me by Major Gant of the Army Community of Excellence Inspection Team on January 29, 1992. The Personnel Processing Branch ranked top honors in Customer Service and Best Personnel Processing Facility. The following personnel were part of the Personnel Processing Branch Army Community of Excellence team:
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