[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 107 (Thursday, June 22, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E876-E877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    100TH ANNIVERSARY OF CAMP SHELBY

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                         HON. STEVEN M. PALAZZO

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2017

  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and commend one 
of the many fine military institutions in Mississippi that has had a 
profound impact on its history and continues to play a positive, vital 
role in its present and future, training the elite military men and 
women of the United States Armed Forces.
  One hundred years ago, in 1917, the largest state owned training 
facility in the nation, Camp Shelby, was established in Mississippi on 
United States Highway 49. With its North Gate located at the southern 
boundary of Hattiesburg, Camp Shelby encompasses over 525 square 
kilometers and more than 134,000 acres of both Perry and Forrest 
Counties.
  Camp Shelby was named for Governor Isaac Shelby, the first Governor 
of Kentucky and a renowned soldier who served as a Colonel in the 
Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War as a militiaman in the 
Kentucky and Indiana territories. As Governor and leader of the 
Kentucky militia during the War of 1812, Governor Shelby helped 
solidify victory for his American troops at the Battle of the Thames in 
Canada in 1813.
  When Camp Shelby was established in 1917, the first commanding 
officer was Major General William Hamden Sage. Major General Sage was 
awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor, bravery and fortitude at the 
Battle of Zapote River during the Philippine Insurrection in 1899.
  During wartime, Camp Shelby's mission is to serve as a major 
independent mobilization station of the United States Army Forces 
Command (FORSCOM). Camp Shelby's 134,000 acres allow for battalion-
level maneuver training, Gunnery Table 8-12, field artillery firing 
points and a wide range of support facilities, while also being 
utilized by units across the country for its ability to support 
numerous different missions.
  Camp Shelby serves as the training ground for the Abrams M1 and the 
Paladin Howitzer Tanks. It is home to the 177th Training Support 
Brigade and is the annual training location for National Guard and 
Reserve units based in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. 
Additionally, the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team and the 278th 
Armored Calvary Regiment conduct their gunnery training at Camp Shelby 
and store the bulk of their combat equipment in the Maneuver Area 
Training Equipment Site (MATES) on base.
  During World War II, Camp Shelby was the training site for the famous 
Japanese-American 100th Battalion 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 
Women's Army Corps. It even housed a prisoner of war camp for detained 
soldiers from the German Africa Corps from 1941-1943.
  On June 6, 2004, Camp Shelby was federalized as a FORSCOM 
Mobilization Center, and since that time several Regimental and Brigade 
Combat Teams have mobilized through the camp, including the 278th 
Armored Cavalry Regiment (Tennessee Army National Guard); the 155th 
Heavy Brigade Combat Team (MS ARNG); the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th 
Infantry Division (PA ARNG); the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th 
Infantry Division (PA ARNG); the 53rd Brigade Combat Team (FL ARNG); 
the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division (MN ARNG); the 41st 
Brigade Combat Team (OR ARNG); the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team 
(LA ARNG); the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (ID ARNG); the 27th 
Infantry Brigade Combat Team (NY ARNG); and the 48th Infantry Brigade 
Combat Team (GA ARNG).
  In addition to fulfilling its obligations as a FORSCOM Mobilization 
Center, Camp Shelby is the field training exercise site for the United 
States Navy Seabees mobilized from the Naval Construction Battalion in 
Gulfport and is home to the Youth Challenge Academy, the only 
militarily-structured GED and high school diploma program in the state.
  I have personally been deployed to Camp Shelby in support of the 
Global War on Terror and continue to drill there as part of my service 
in the Mississippi National Guard. I can attest that this is truly a 
national asset and a special part of the State of Mississippi.
  I hereby recognize and honor the remarkable feats of Camp Shelby upon 
the auspicious occasion of its 100th Anniversary and express best 
wishes for its success and growth in the future.

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