Danish Home Guard participates in Golden Coyote exercise for first time 120612-A-FY577-152

Camp Rapid is a South Dakota

Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, 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 A ...

installation located in Westside,

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

just inside the edge of the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

. Although the

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

state capital is

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...

, the state's Adjutant General has his office and headquarters in Camp Rapid.

Background

Camp Rapid developed as a summer encampment site for the

South Dakota National Guard The South Dakota National Guard is part of the South Dakota Department of Military & Veterans Affairs. It was created in 1862 as the State Militia. Its headquarters is located in Rapid City, South Dakota. It consists of the South Dakota Army Natio ...

in the early 20th century, using land borrowed from the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States federal agency within the Department of the Interior. It is responsible for implementing federal laws and policies related to American Indians and A ...

"Sioux Sanitorium" and

Rapid City Indian School The Rapid City Indian School was located in Rapid City, South Dakota, and has since been converted into both an asylum and a hospital known as the Sioux San Hospital. The school opened 1898 as part of the federal government's off-reservation boar ...

, today's

Indian Health Service The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally-recognized Nativ ...

(IHS) SiouxSan Hospital, located just west of Camp Rapid. It became a permanent installation during and immediately after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when it was used for mobilization of National Guard units for the front in France. Its use continued during the 1920s and 1930s, and it was taken over as a federal installation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Permanent and temporary buildings erected during World War II continue in use today. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Camp Rapid continued to host and support National Guard activities, including a series of annual exercises involving National Guard troops from many states conducting operations in the Black Hills. In the early 1990s, a new series of building projects replaced tent pads and brick and metal "tents" with permanent structures for use as armories, barracks, and support facilities. Security of the Camp was upgraded significantly in the early 2000s as part of nationwide security improvements. While small, the camp is a showcase for the National Guard and one of three active, manned military installations remaining in the Black Hills, and one of four in South Dakota.

References

{{coord, 44, 04, 45, N, 103, 16, 01, W, display=title Installations of the United States Army National Guard Black Hills Military installations in South Dakota Buildings and structures in Rapid City, South Dakota

Background

See also

References