[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 7, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1205-E1206]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          FORT HUNTER LIGGETT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 7, 2016

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to my colleagues' 
attention the seventy-fifth anniversary of Fort Hunter Liggett, 
California. On December 12, 1940, the War Department purchased 266,950 
acres of land between the Salinas River and the Pacific Ocean from 
William Randolph Hearst, in anticipation of the need to prepare U.S. 
troops for combat in Europe in 1940. On January 10, 1941, the Hunter 
Liggett Military Reservation was established and combat troops 
immediately began training. It is ideally located to provide excellent 
training opportunities to all U.S. Armed Forces and allied nations.
   From its inception, Fort Hunter Liggett has provided a realistic 
training environment for large-scale military exercises for U.S. Armed 
Forces. It is the largest installation in the Army Reserve, with more 
than 165,000 acres of unencroached mountains, valleys, rivers, plains, 
and forests, providing ideal maneuver areas to meet today's training 
requirements. Fort Hunter Liggett is one of only a few installations 
that have a 360-degree live-fire capability for small arms. Its state-
of-the-art ranges, training areas, and facilities support year-round 
joint, multi-component, and interagency training.
   In its early history, the installation had five airstrips that were 
used during WWII to transport troops, supplies and the wounded. William 
Randolph Hearst's Milpitas Ranch House, commonly referred to as ``The 
Hacienda'', was used as the post headquarters. The Army has maintained 
and preserved the building designed by renowned California architect 
Julia Morgan, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. 
Today, the historic building is a hotel and enjoyed by the public as a 
tourist attraction.
   During the 1970s, Fort Hunter Liggett was the home of the Combat 
Development and Experimentation Center which provided critical testing 
and fielding of new weapons and warfare techniques, such as the Cobra 
Attack Helicopter and M16 Assault Rifle. The 4th and 7th Infantry 
Divisions used the installation as their primary training grounds, as 
well as Army Reserve and National Guard units.
   Today, Fort Hunter Liggett primarily serves as a world class 
training platform for Army Reserve combat support and combat service 
support training and large-scale exercises. Fort Hunter Liggett is 
funded by the U.S. Army Reserve and falls under the command of the U.S. 
Army Installation Management Command.
   Fort Hunter Liggett is also a leader in meeting the Department of 
Defense 2020 Net Zero Initiative. The Energy Conservation Investment 
Program established Fort Hunter Liggett as a prototype since it will be 
the first installation to achieve Net Zero goals. As one of nine pilot 
installations chosen by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for 
Installations, Energy and Environment, the Garrison has installed solar 
panels and energy storage systems, upgraded the waste water treatment 
plant, demolished Korean War-era buildings to conserve energy 
consumption, and ensured that all new construction meets the Leadership 
in Energy and Environmental Design standards. In addition, Fort Hunter 
Liggett has partnered with the County of Monterey to field a waste-to-
energy gasification plant.
   Since 1941, countless numbers of troops have come through Fort 
Hunter Liggett to train for their deployments to support WWII, the 
Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and today's war on global 
terrorism. The Fort Hunter Liggett military and civilian workforce 
proudly serves all branches of the Armed Forces, as well as allied 
forces. I commend the Installation for all its role in enabling unit, 
Soldier, and family readiness.
   Mr. Speaker, for seventy five years, Fort Hunter Liggett has been an 
essential training platform for the U.S. Armed Forces, contributing to 
the security of our nation and strengthening international partnerships 
that build peace. In times of global unrest both past and present, Fort 
Hunter Liggett has demonstrated its capacity to ensure the readiness of 
its troops to defend the American ideals and freedom. I end with the 
refrain from the Army's Official Song, ``First to fight for the right, 
And to build the Nation's might, And the Army goes rolling along.''

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