Yakima Training Center
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The Yakima Training Center (YTCUS Army Webpage Yakima Training Center
/ref>) is a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
training center, used for maneuver training, Land Warrior system testing and as a
live fire exercise A live fire exercise (LFX) is a military exercise in which live ammunition and ordnance is used, as opposed to blanks or dummies. The term can also be found in non-military usage. Military Militaries usually use live-fire exercises as an op ...
area. It is located in the south central portion of the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
, bounded on the west by
Interstate 82 Interstate 82 (I-82) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States that travels through parts of Washington (state), Washington and Oregon. It runs from its northwestern terminus at I ...
, on the south by the city of
Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...
, on the north by the city of Ellensburg and
Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
, and on the east by the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
. It is a part of
Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
. It comprises 327,000 acres (132,332 hectares) of land, most of which consists of shrub-steppe, making it one of the largest areas of shrub-steppe habitat remaining in Washington state. The terrain is undulating and dominated by three east-west parallel ridges, the Saddle Mountains, Manastash Ridge, and Umtanum Ridge
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...
s, which are part of the Yakima Fold Belt near the western edge of the
Columbia River Plateau The Columbia Plateau is an important geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by ...
. Vegetation consists of
sagebrush Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus ''Artemisia (plant), Artemisia''. The best-known sagebrush is the shrub ''Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrush is native to the western half of North Amer ...
, bitterbrush, and
bunch grass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...
."Yakima Training Center", globalsecurity.org
/ref> Vagabond Army Airfield and Selah Airstrip are located on the Yakima Training Center. The training center is also used by the
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...
for exercises.


History

From 1942 to 1946 the U.S. Army leased of land in the area for the Yakima Anti-Aircraft Artillery Range. Then in 1951 the Army purchased for the Yakima Firing Center, which would become the modern Yakima Training Center.Yakima Training Center: Little-known, really big operation
''
Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
''
The United States Army identified a need for a large maneuver area in the
Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
and appointed a board of officers to negotiate with local landowners to lease 160,000 acres in the Yakima area. In 1941, just prior to
World War II 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 ...
, military units in the Pacific Northwest began using the Yakima Anti-Aircraft Artillery Range for range firing and small unit tests; and in 1942 the first temporary buildings were constructed on Umptanum Ridge about eight miles northeast of the current cantonment area. During the latter part of 1942 and 1943, another camp was built in the location of the present cantonment area and was named the Yakima Firing Center. The 9th Service Command assumed control of the Yakima Firing Center and supported training for numerous Army Reserve and National Guard infantry, artillery, and engineer units through the remainder of World War II. The Army decided to enlarge the Yakima Firing Center because of increasing training requirements and its future potential. In 1951, the Army bought 261,198 acres at a cost of $3.3 million. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Yakima Firing Center supported training activities and exercises for Fort Lewis units and the
Washington Army National Guard The Washington Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the Washington National Guard based in Washington (state), Washington. The history of the Washington Army National Guard dates back to 1854 with formation of the Wash ...
. These exercises ranged up to division level and included major exercises named Hilltop, Applejack, and Cooly Crest. In 1965 the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
conducted Operation Yakima Attack, which was a joint air/ground exercise of the type that illustrates the true value of Yakima Firing Center as a maneuver training area. During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
era, Yakima Firing Center was used almost exclusively for U.S. Army Reserve and
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
training; Fort Lewis had become a training center and no longer housed a division. However, in 1971 the 9th Infantry Division was activated at Fort Lewis, and in 1974 their first divisional exercise, Bold Fire, marked the return of the active Army to Yakima Firing Center. Users of the Yakima Firing Center continued to grow over the next several years. The single largest exercise ever conducted at Yakima Firing Center occurred in 1976, when 6,000 active, reserve, and National Guard, and sister services converged on the installation for Joint Training Exercise Brave Shield. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the 9th Division and the Washington Army National Guard trained extensively on the installation. They conducted tank gunner, extensive maneuver exercises and tests. New equipment was frequently tested at Yakima Firing Center because of its rugged, austere conditions. The new equipment provided greater mobility and the new weapons had greater range, so the Army determined that more area was required. In 1987, actions began that resulted in the acquisition of more than 63,000 acres at a cost of $18 million following congressional approval in 1992. During this period, other major changes occurred for Yakima Firing Center. The 9th Infantry Division deactivated at Fort Lewis, and a brigade from the 7th Infantry Division moved in; construction of the Multi-Purpose Range Complex was completed in 1988 and it opened for business in July 1989, and the Yakima Firing Center was renamed the YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER in 1990. The new name more accurately described the mission and capability of the installation. The force structure at Fort Lewis continued to change, and the stationing of three Stryker brigades from the 2nd Infantry Division, 1 Artillery and ADA Brigade and a Battlefield Surveillance Brigade once again increased training levels at Yakima Training Center. Major improvements to the installation increased its capability to support training. Another major range project, the Multi-Purpose Training Range, was completed; 250 miles of high quality road were constructed; a state-of-the-art Wash Rack facility, a new fuel facility, and an expanded Ammunition Supply Point enhanced the expanded maneuver area. Yakima Training Center provides training support for transient units and organizations by sustaining training lands, range complexes, and support facilities in order to enhance readiness. The installation's customers include not only the
Joint Base Lewis-McChord A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
and Army National Guard units, but also U.S. Special Operations Command, Marine Corps,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
units, plus local and federal
law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...
and allied forces from Canada and Japan. Decades of use of fire-suppressant foam containing
PFAS Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (also PFAS, PFASs, and informally referred to as "forever chemicals") are a group of synthetic organofluorine chemical compounds that have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain; there are 7 millio ...
contaminated groundwater around the center, requiring water filtration in East Selah, Washington.


National Security Agency

In addition to its role as a training facility, the Yakima facility has been asserted to play a major role in
ECHELON Echelon may refer to: * A level formation ** A level or rank in an organization, profession, or society ** A military sub-subunit smaller than a company but larger than a platoon ** Echelon formation, a step-like arrangement of units * ECHELO ...
, the global surveillance network operated by
Five Eyes The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an Anglosphere intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries are party to the multilateral UKUSA Agreement, a treaty for joint cooperat ...
. The
SIGINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
portion of the facility is referred to as Yakima Research Station. The small Yakima intercept station remains an important means of intercepting
COMINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is the act and field of intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly u ...
passing through the plethora of
Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...
and other international communications satellites orbiting geosynchronously above the earth. In April 2013, the '' Yakima Herald'' reported that the Yakima Research Station was going to be shut down at some unspecified time in the future with its function moving to a facility in
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. The office of Congressman Doc Hastings, in whose district the facility is located, was notified by the NSA in summer 2012 that the facility was going to be shut down. This was subsequently confirmed, with the Navy posting an OPNAV notice of closure. The functions of the facilities will be moved to the Aerospace Data Facility at
Buckley Space Force Base Buckley Space Force Base is a United States Space Force base in Aurora, Colorado named after United States Army Air Service First lieutenant, First Lieutenant John Harold Buckley. The base is run by Space Base Delta 2, with major units includin ...
in Colorado and result in the loss of 100 or more jobs from the Yakima area. According to
James Bamford James Bamford (born September 15, 1946) is an American author, journalist and documentary producer noted for his writing about United States intelligence agencies, especially the National Security Agency (NSA). ''The New York Times'' has calle ...
, the facility's focus on satellite communications led to its closure. "That's history now", said Bamford in 2013. "
Cyberspace Cyberspace is an interconnected digital environment. It is a type of virtual world popularized with the rise of the Internet. The term entered popular culture from science fiction and the arts but is now used by technology strategists, security ...
and upercomputersare the frontier."


References

{{Authority control Installations of the United States Army in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Kittitas County, Washington Buildings and structures in Yakima County, Washington National Security Agency facilities