[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 30 (Monday, February 25, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S1115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE U.S. ARMY RESERVE
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to observe the
100th anniversary of the U.S. Army Reserve and to recognize its
installations in California that comprise the U.S. Army Combat Support
Training Center, CSTC.
Initially established by Congress in 1908 to provide a reserve force
of medical officers, today's Army Reserve is a vital operational
component in the world's most powerful and sophisticated Army. The Army
Reserve provides the specialized skills and manpower the Army depends
on and currently assists the Army in locations worldwide, including
Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines, and Latin
America. As a result of their extensive peacetime and wartime
accomplishments over the last 100 years, the men and women who have
served and continue to volunteer to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve
deserve the greatest respect and admiration.
Established in June 2005, CSTC is the Army's newest training center
and the first of its kind to serve as a premier training center for
Army Reserve soldiers in the Western United States. CSTC provides
ranges, training areas, and facilities to prepare and train Army
Reserve soldiers and encompasses four geographically separated
installations throughout northern and central California: Moffett Field
in the city of Mountain View, B.T. Collins Army Reserve Center in the
city of Sacramento, Camp Parks in the city of Dublin, and Fort Hunter
Liggett in southern Monterey County.
Until 1993, Camp Parks and Fort Hunter Liggett were separate
installations under the control of the U.S. Army Reserve Command,
USARC. However, in 1995, USARC placed these two posts under Fort McCoy,
WI, which in turn developed the original CSTC concept. With
headquarters at Camp Parks, which oversees the base operations,
training facilities, and housing assets of Fort Hunter Liggett and Camp
Parks, the CSTC also provides military housing at Moffett Field and
lodging and dining facilities at the B.T. Collins Army Reserve Center.
I commend the CSTC for its success in providing the training grounds,
facilities, and support to Army Reserve soldiers. The world-class
support and training reservists receive at CSTC is worthy of the utmost
praise. I commend the U.S. Army Reserve for 100 years of stellar
service to our State and Nation. I will continue to support the Army
Reserve as a vital component of America's national defense.
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