Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms

The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), also known as 29 Palms, is a United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

base. It was a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

(CDP) officially known as Twentynine Palms Base located adjacent to the city of Twentynine Palms

Twentynine Palms, California

Twentynine Palms is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It was previously called Twenty-Nine Palms...

in southern San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

. As of the 2000 census, the base had a total population of 8,413. The zip code of the base is 92278.

The CDP was discontinued prior to the 2010 census.

History

On August 20, 1952, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and serves as its prime amphibious training base...

Base Headquarters issued Post Order 343 creating the Marine Corps Training Center, Twentynine Palms. Two years before, the nation had become embroiled in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

. As the need for live-fire training grew along with the swelling ranks, it became obvious that more ranges were needed. Pendleton's Marines looked northward, and happened upon the abandoned Condor Field, a World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

and Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

glider

Military glider

Military gliders have been used by the military of various countries for carrying troops and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g...

base located in the vicinity of what is now mainside.

The base was redesignated on February 6, 1953 as Marine Corps Training Center, Twentynine Palms. By February 1, 1957, it grew to base status and was again redesignated as Marine Corps Base, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

Only 70 Marines comprised the detachment at the Center. Manned by Marines from Camp Pendleton, its primary mission was to prepare the new base for the arrival of permanent personnel. By mid-December, 1952, a fresh 3rd Marine Division, with assistance from the 12th Marine Regiment, conducted the first large-scale, live-fire field exercise aboard the new base. The exercise gave Marines a glimpse of the facility's potential and foreshadowed the large-scale combined arms

Combined arms

Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...

exercises (CAXs) for which the base is now known.

In 1976, under the command of Brigadier General Ernest R. Reid, Jr., work began to add an expeditionary

Expeditionary warfare

Expeditionary warfare is used to describe the organization of a state's military to fight abroad, especially when deployed to fight away from its established bases at home or abroad. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of Rapid Deployment Forces...

airfield to the base's growing infrastructure. When the first C-5 Galaxy

C-5 Galaxy

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. It provides the United States Air Force with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsize and oversize cargos, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many...

landed in August 1978, it was apparent that the air-ground capability of the base was complete. Following completion of the expeditionary airfield, its name was changed to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Training Center on October 1, 1978, and changed yet once more to Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) on February 16, 1979. It was also during this time that plans for the Combined Arms

Combined arms

Combined arms is an approach to warfare which seeks to integrate different branches of a military to achieve mutually complementary effects...

Exercises were conceived. Supplanting an earlier exercise known as Desert Palm Tree, the new CAXs were remarkable in two respects: the practice of combined arms, and live-fire and movement during the exercises were unprecedented in scale. Just as noteworthy was the creation of a Tactical Exercise Control Center with the primary purpose of controlling, instructing and critiquing the exercises. In the words of base historian, Col. Verle E. Ludwig, USMC (Ret.), "Twentynine Palms was to be a permanent 'combined-arms exercise college' for all of the Marine Corps."

On Oct. 1, 2000, after 21 years as MCAGCC, the command was redesignated as Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Twentynine Palms, California. This redesignation accompanied a change in policy that placed MAGTF Training Command under the auspices of Training and Education Command, Headquarters Marine Corps

Headquarters Marine Corps

Headquarters Marine Corps is a headquarters staff within the Department of the Navy which includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and various staff functions...

, MCCDC

Marine Corps Combat Development Command

Marine Corps Combat Development Command, located in at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, has the mission of developing Marine Corps warfighting abilities to enable the Corps to field combat-ready forces...

, Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base Quantico

Marine Corps Base Quantico, sometimes abbreviated MCB Quantico, is a major United States Marine Corps training base located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly in southern Prince William County, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. This arrangement simplifies what was occasionally a complicated chain of command. The expeditionary airfield and surrounding spartan accommodations for visiting units was nicknamed "Camp Wilson".

The base is currently home to the largest military training area in the nation (and the largest US base in the world), and consequently, the largest training program. The program known as Mojave Viper has become the model of pre-Operation Iraqi Freedom deployment training. The majority of units in the Marine Corps will undergo a month at Mojave Viper before deploying to Iraq or a mixed training venue using the Mountain Warfare Training Center

Mountain Warfare Training Center

The Mountain Warfare Training Center is a United States Marine Corps installation located in Pickel Meadows on California State Route 108 in the Toiyabe National Forest, 21 miles northwest of Bridgeport, California...

for Afghanistan

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...

. Live fire exercises, artillery, tank, and close air support

Close air support

In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...

training are used for training, in addition to the sprawling "Combat Town," a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) fabricated Middle Eastern village, complete with a mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

, native role-players, an "IED

Improvised explosive device

An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...

Alley," and other immersive touches.

In August 2008, the Marine Corps submitted a land withdrawal application to the Bureau of Land Management

Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...

(BLM) for approximately 422000 acres (1,707.8 km²) contiguous to base as part of an ongoing study by the Marine Corps for possible base expansion, along with the establishment of corresponding special-use airspace, necessary to train a Marine Expeditionary Brigade

Marine Expeditionary Brigade

A Marine Expeditionary Brigade is a formation of the United States Marine Corps, a Marine Air-Ground Task Force of approximately 14,500 Marines and Sailors constructed around a reinforced infantry regiment, a composite Marine aircraft group, a logistics group and a command element...

at the Combat Center.

Geography

Twentynine Palms Base is located at 34°14′48"N 116°5′28"W, within the Morongo Basin

Morongo Basin

The Morongo Basin is located centrally in the southern portion of the state of California in the United States. The Morongo basin is part of the Inland Empire metropolitan statistical area, the 13th largest in the United States. Joshua Tree National Park lies within the basin. The basin stretches...

and the High Desert

High Desert (California)

The High Desert is an unofficial and vaguely-defined geographic area of southern California located to the northeast of the San Gabriel Mountains. The term "High Desert" is used most commonly by the news media, especially in weather forecasts, and in the names of businesses and organizations...

region of the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

, in Southern California

Southern California

Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...

.

MCAGCC Twentynine Palms is approximately 98 miles from the Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow

Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow is a United States Marine Corps supply and maintenance installation located east of Barstow, California. Its mission is to rebuild and repair ground-combat and combat-support equipment and to support installations on the West Coast of the United States...

, which is located in the city of Barstow, California

Barstow, California

Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....

. It is also approximately 111 miles from the Barstow-Daggett Airport

Barstow-Daggett Airport

Barstow-Daggett Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located four nautical miles east of the central business district of the town of Daggett, and east of the city of Barstow...

located in Daggett, California

Daggett, California

Daggett is an unincorporated town located in San Bernardino County, California in the United States. The town is located on Interstate 40 ten miles East of Barstow. The town has a population of about 200. The ZIP code is 92327 and the community is inside area code 760.-History:The town was...

.

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the base has a total area of 1.4 mi² (3.7 km²). This area is all land with none covered by water. This area only applies to the main cantonment which includes the base housing; the entire installation is far larger, with 931.7 mi² (2,413.2 km²) of surface area, all land. There was a resident population of 14,090 on this territory as of the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

.

The terrain is consistent with steeply-sloped mountains and flat valleys running northwest-southeast, with elevations ranging from 1,800 to 4500 feet (1,371.6 m) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. The training area is also characterized with ancient lava flows, as well as dry lake

Dry lake

Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...

beds and arroyo

Arroyo (creek)

An arroyo , a Spanish word translated as brook, and also called a wash is usually a dry creek or stream bed—gulch that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after sufficient rain. Wadi is a similar term in Africa. In Spain, a rambla has a similar meaning to arroyo.-Types and processes:Arroyos...

s (or wadi

Wadi

Wadi is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some cases, it may refer to a dry riverbed that contains water only during times of heavy rain or simply an intermittent stream.-Variant names:...

s) that fill quickly during rain, presenting the danger of powerful flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

s and washout

Washout

A washout is the sudden erosion of soft soil or other support surfaces by a gush of water, usually occurring during a heavy downpour of rain or other stream flooding. These downpours may occur locally in a thunderstorm , or over a large area, such as following the landfall of a tropical cyclone...

s that can move armored vehicle

Armoured fighting vehicle

An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and armed with weapons. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked....

s. Many abandoned mines dot the terrain, as well as unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance

Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...

and shrapnel, making unauthorized travel in the training areas dangerous.

The climate is described best as arid

Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

and upland desert

Desert

A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...

. Summer temperatures can peak at 120° F and bottom at 15°F in the winter, with an annual average of 67°F. Precipitation averages to four inches (102 mm) annually, most often in the fall and winter months. Weather is generally clear and sunny days, with low humidity.

In popular culture

A futuristic version of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center is featured at the start of the movie Doom (film)

Doom (film)

Doom is a 2005 science fiction horror film, loosely based on the Doom series of video games created by id Software. It was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak....

.

When the hit TV show Home Improvement was about to be sold into syndication, the producers decided to kick off the syndicated run with a brand new episode not shown on prime time. Much of that episode was taped in 1995 aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. The episode, titled "Tanks for the Memories", featured Tim and Jill

Jill Taylor

Jillian "Jill" Taylor is a character in the TV sitcom Home Improvement played by Patricia Richardson. Jill is Tim Taylor's wife. Jill helps Tim raise their three sons . Jill Taylor has appeared on critics' lists of "top TV" or "most memorable" moms...

racing tanks across the desert base.

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there are 8,413 people, 912 households, and 904 families residing on the base. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

is 2,287.5/km² (5,935.8/mi²). There are 1,006 housing units at an average density of 273.5/km² (709.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 70.3% White, 10.4% African American, 1.4% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 9.5% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. 19.6% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 912 households out of which 73.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 94.5% are married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

living together, 3.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 0.8% are non-families. 0.8% of all households are made up of individuals and <0.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.4 and the average family size is 3.4.

The age distribution of the base is: 15.4% under the age of 18, 67.0% from 18 to 24, 16.8% from 25 to 44, 0.7% from 45 to 64, and <0.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 21 years. For every 100 females there are 404.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 596.3 males. These statistics are consistent with the area's military status.

The median income for a household on the base is $29,500, and the median income for a family is $29,594. Males have a median income of $14,111 versus $17,014 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

for the base is $12,615. 12.1% of the population and 11.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.0% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Politics

In the state legislature

California State Legislature

The California State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members...

Twentynine Palms Base is located in the 18th Senate

California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

District, represented by Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

Roy Ashburn

Roy Arthur Ashburn is an American politician from Kern County, California. A Republican, he served as a California State Senator from 2002 to 2010 representing the 18th district. He previously served three terms in the California State Assembly, representing the 32nd district and 12 years on the...

, and in the 34th Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

District, represented by Republican Bill Maze

Bill Maze

Bill Maze is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party. Maze is the president of Citizens for Saving California Farming Industries, a non-profit dedicated to dividing California into two states....

. Federally, Twentynine Palms Base is located in California's 41st congressional district

California's 41st congressional district

California's 41st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in San Bernardino County. The district encompasses the eastern region of the Greater Los Angeles Area known as the Inland Empire...

, which has a Cook PVI

Cook Partisan Voting Index

The Cook Partisan Voting Index , sometimes referred to as simply the Partisan Voting Index , is a measurement of how strongly an American congressional district or state leans toward one political party compared to the nation as a whole...

of R +9 and is represented by Republican Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis (politician)

Charles Jeremy Lewis is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 40th, 35th and 37th, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in the role during the 109th Congress.-Early life, education, and...

External links

MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, official web site
Official Facebook page
MCAGCC 29 Palms Base Overview & PCS Information (MarineCorpsUSA.org)
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-show_geoid=Y&-tree_id=4001&-_showChild=Y&-context=dt&-errMsg=&-all_geo_types=Y&-mt_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_P001&-redoLog=false&-transpose=N&-search_map_config=|b=50|l=en|t=4001|zf=0.0|ms=sel_00dec|dw=1.0922730753507848|dh=0.6724489103771135|dt=gov.census.aff.domain.map.EnglishMapExtent|if=gif|cx=-116.26366506211177|cy=34.429515186953225|zl=6|pz=6|bo=318:317:314:313|bl=358:357:355:354|ft=338:332:331|fl=372:369:368|g=15000US060710104029&-PANEL_ID=p_dt_geo_map&-_lang=en&-geo_id=14000US06071010402&-CONTEXT=dt&-format=&-search_results=15000US060710104029&-CHECK_SEARCH_RESULTS=N&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_UU.S. Marine Corps Combat Training Center: Census Tract 104.02, San Bernardino County, California] United States Census Bureau