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Camp Ripley is a
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and
civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
training facility operated by the
Minnesota National Guard The Minnesota National Guard is a state-based military force of more than 13,000 soldiers and airmen, serving in 61 communities across the state. Operated in the U.S. state of Minnesota, it is reserve component of the National Guard. The Cons ...
near the city of Little Falls in the central part of the state. The location of the camp was selected in 1929 by Ellard A. Walsh, Adjutant General of the State of Minnesota. The site's winter warfare training course is the primary facility used by the National Guard for winter combat exercises. Camp Ripley also hosts the training academy for the
Minnesota State Patrol The Minnesota State Patrol is the primary state patrol agency for Minnesota and serves as the de facto state police for the state. While Minnesota State Patrol troopers have full powers of arrest throughout the state, their primary function is traf ...
and is a popular site for athletes training to compete in winter
biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not tim ...
s. Most Minnesota Guard soldiers train at Camp Ripley during two-week annual training periods. The camp is a state
game refuge A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
with resources managed cooperatively by the Department of Military Affairs and
Department of Natural Resources This article lists subnational environmental agencies in the United States, by state. Agencies with a variety of titles and responsibilities are included, e.g. Department of Environment, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of E ...
. It also houses the Minnesota Military Museum, a museum that is open for the public and military personnel. Also on the grounds is the site of Fort Ripley, a military post established in 1848—the second ever built in Minnesota—to keep the peace among the
Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...
,
Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
, and
Ho-Chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iow ...
people. The Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery is also located on the grounds of Camp Ripley.


History of Camp Ripley

The site for Camp Ripley was first approved following
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 ...
in 1929. The State of Minnesota purchased of land to be used for military training. The site was officially named Camp Ripley in December 1930. It was named after Fort Ripley, a frontier fort that had been closed by the Federal Government in 1877. The fort was named for Brigadier General
Eleazar Wheelock Ripley Eleazer Wheelock Ripley (April 15, 1782 – March 2, 1839) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the War of 1812, eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general, and later served as a U.S. Representative from Louisiana, fr ...
, a hero of the War of 1812. The remains of Fort Ripley are contained within the camp's property boundaries. The first soldiers that came to train at Camp Ripley stayed in tents, thus, training was only possible in the summer months. The government started to see that it was not beneficial to use tents year round while training, so they constructed buildings. There are now many historic buildings at Camp Ripley. An example is Valhalla, the governor's lodge. President
Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
stayed there twice, as did Senator Eugene McCarthy. When the lodge is not being used by the governor, it is used for other VIP guests. In 1951, the Minnesota Legislature approved the purchasing of more land by Camp Ripley. After the purchase they then had of land. Camp Ripley slowly bought more land and now has .


Camp Ripley State Training Facility

Camp Ripley is the training site for the National Guard, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Wing of the
Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...
,
Minnesota DNR The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recr ...
, Minnesota State Fire Marshal (Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education), and Foreign exchange programs. The Army Reserve often trains at Camp Ripley during the summer.


National Guard training

Camp Ripley has small arms and tank ranges, maneuver training areas capable of supporting heavy brigade, and special operation training facilities. Examples of the special operation training facilities are: Three drop zones, rappel tower, confidence course, water training areas, two prisoner of war compounds, and many more. The Miller Army Airfield is also located at the camp. Named for Ray S. Miller, it includes a 6100-foot (1860 m) paved
runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
capable of accommodating
C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...
aircraft. There are also five
drop zone A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In ...
s for training for the release of
cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...
and personnel from aircraft. The airfield's
FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
identifier is KRYM. Camp Ripley has a fully equipped winter training area. It is the National Guard's premier cold weather training site in the United States. There are: Biathlon courses, groomed cross country ski paths, special cold weather equipment, down hill ski slopes and all-weather ranges.


Foreign exchange program

In addition to being used by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
military, it sees regular visitors from
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
(exchange programme with the
Norwegian Home Guard The Norwegian Home Guard ( no, Heimevernet – "HV") is the rapid mobilisation force within the Norwegian armed forces. Its main focus is local defense and civil support, but it can also detach volunteers for international operations. Its main ta ...
since February 1974, with a total of 3,000 Norwegians involved over the years and a similar number of Americans having gone to the Norwegian Home Guard training centre at
Værnes Air Station Værnes Air Station ( no, Værnes flystasjon) is an air station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force located in the municipality of Stjørdal in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is co-located with Trondheim Airport, Værnes, which is owned and operated ...
), and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
.


DNR, State Fire Marshal, Transportation and State Patrol training

Camp Ripley houses the Department of Natural Resources Enforcement Center. DNR Conservation Officers are trained year-round in Camp Ripley's diverse habitat. They train by practicing controlled burns and studying the habitat. Camp Ripley hosts many State Fire training classes; including response, live fire burn exercises, apparatus driving maneuvers, and fire investigations throughout the year. Camp Ripley hosts the Department of Transportation Snow and Ice snow plowing training each summer. Camp Ripley has been the host for the Minnesota State Patrol Academy since 1996. The men and women who train to become state patrol officers practice their shooting skills on one of Camp Ripley's ranges and practice driving maneuvers.


Environmental sector

The environment office studies the relationship and compatibility of military activities with wildlife. They use
geographic information systems A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a br ...
(GIS) to determine training sites, figure out what areas have historic value, where eagle nests are and much more. Wildlife that is specifically studied are: bald eagle, white-tailed deer, black bear, blandings turtle and timber wolf. The Environmental office has won awards for their work at camp ripley and with the local area. The list of awards is as follows: 2008 Secretary of the Army, Environmental Security Award "Natural Resources Conservation – Large Installation" 2005 Secretary of the Army, Environmental Security Award "Natural Resources Conservation-team" 1998 Secretary of the Army, Environmental Security Award "Natural Resources Conservation – Large Installation"


Annual deer hunts

There are three deer hunts each year at Camp Ripley to help control the deer population: one for disabled veterans and soon-to-be deployed Soldiers, one archery hunt for adults, and a youth archery hunt. There are raffles for the adult and youth archery hunts every year to determine who can participate in the hunt. For each weekend there are about 2,000 hunters.


Sustainability

The Unmanned Aerial Systems Operations Facility is pending LEED Silver. This was done by the use of local, recyclable materials and enhanced thermal envelope. This will be the first LEED rated building at Camp Ripley. The UASOF was designed by
JLG Architects JLG Architects is an architecture firm that specializes in urban design, master planning and architectural design for sports/recreation facilities, universities, K-12 schools, aviation facilities, medical centers, and mixed-use/multi-family hous ...
http://jlgarchitects.com/work/aviation/camp-ripley-uasof


References


External links


Camp Ripley

Minnesota Military Museum
{{coord, 46.0945, -94.3482, region:US_type:landmark, display=title 1930 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Morrison County, Minnesota Installations of the United States Air National Guard Installations of the United States Army National Guard Military facilities in Minnesota Protected areas of Morrison County, Minnesota