Camp Perry is a

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

training facility located on the shore of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

in northern

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

near Port Clinton. In addition to its regular mission as a military training base, Camp Perry also boasts the second largest outdoor rifle range in the world after the NRA Whittington Center in

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Colfax County, New Mexico, Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico, United States. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Col ...

. The firing is done in the direction of the open water of the lake, that lies just beyond an earthen berm and the targets.

History

The original land for Camp Perry was purchased in 1906, and the reservation was named after Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the American naval commander who won the Battle of Put-in-Bay during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. Rudimentary structures were constructed for use by competitors in the National Matches, and for transient military personnel. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Camp Perry served as a training center for Army officers and marksmanship instructors. Around 1918 an additional area immediately adjacent to the existing Camp Perry grounds was used to construct the Erie Army Depot for artillery ordnance storage. In the 1920s, the facility was by the Special Police School, a tactical training facility established by the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

and the Army's National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice. Dubbed " Hogan's Alley," the Special Police School consisted of... In 1924, the police departments of all cities with populations of over 10,000 were invited to participate in national matches at Camp Perry. The coming of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

closed the Special Police School down, and Camp Perry served as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

camp for

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and

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prisoners. The Italian prisoners were very lightly guarded and worked alongside the civilians at the camp. They were also used as workers at various local industries and returned to the camp each night. The camp was used to test the longevity of artillery weapons. The gun barrels were measured with a very precise gauge. The guns were then fired into Lake Erie and retested to determine the amount of wear the rounds of firing caused. This enabled the Army to estimate the effective life of the weapon. After the war prisoner quarters were converted back to use by transient personnel who were at Perry for training. In 1946 Ohio Governor Frank Lausche considered turning the camp into a college temporarily. The camp was used extensively for several years after World War II, and in 1956 the Special Police School was re-opened, but use slowed somewhat during the 1960s. The Erie Army Depot closed in the mid-1960s and was eventually converted to industrial use. However, many of Camp Perry's original structures are still in use in one form or another. On June 24, 1998, a tornado damaged several buildings on the grounds.

Present use

Currently, Camp Perry is home to the 213th Ordnance Company (Missile Support, Corps), the 372d Missile Maintenance Company (DS) Detachment 1, the 200th RED HORSE Civil Engineering Squadron ( Ohio Air National Guard), U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit 309, the

Ohio Naval Militia The Ohio Naval Militia (Ohio Navy) is the Naval militias in the United States, naval militia of the State of Ohio. It is the naval arm of the State of Ohio's Adjutant General's Department, and is part of Ohio's state defense force, military forces. ...

(the naval arm of Ohio's

State Defense Forces In the United States, state defense forces (SDFs) are military units that operate under the sole authority of a State governments of the United States, state government. State defense forces are authorized by state and federal law and are unde ...

), and the

Ohio Military Reserve The Ohio Military Reserve (OHMR) is one of three separate components that make up the Ohio State Defense Force (SDF). Like other SDF's the Ohio Military Reserve functions as a reserve to the Ohio National Guard. State Defense Forces are not eligi ...

(the militia arm of Ohio's State Defense Forces).

Civilian Marksmanship Program

Camp Perry has been the host of the

Civilian Marksmanship Program The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a national organization dedicated to training and educating U.S. citizens in responsible uses of firearms and airguns through gun safety training, marksmanship training, and competitions. The CMP is a f ...

(CMP) and the

NRA NRA may refer to: Organizations Asia and Oceania * National Railway Administration, the national railway regulator of China * National Recruitment Agency, Central Recruiting Agency of the Indian Government * New Revolutionary Alternative, an anar ...

-sponsored National Rifle Matches since 1907. The National Matches, considered America's "World Series of the Shooting Sports," attracts shooting sports competitors from all across the world to compete in matches of all multitudes. Competition event shooters range from beginners to the world’s best. The National Matches include Small Arms Firing Schools, a series of CMP National Trophy Rifle and Pistol Matches, CMP Games Events and NRA national championships. The National Matches are conducted through a partnership with the CMP, the Ohio National Guard and the NRA. The camp is home to the Small Arms Firing School, which provides shooters with expert training and facilities for improving their shooting ability. The Small Arms Firing School was first conducted by The Department of Defense as part of the National Matches at the camp in 1918. Now there are over one thousand pistol and rifle shooters a year that take part in firearms safety and fundamental marksmanship skills. The Pistol and Rifle Schools are conducted by the U. S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU). The Schools are open to all United States citizens who are over the minimum age. USAMU instructors, assisted by

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...

and

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

Active,

and Army Reserve shooting team members teach basic marksmanship techniques to the new and less experienced, and experienced shooters who want to learn new ways to improve their scores. Camp Perry is also home to the

's north office.

Notes

References

External links