The Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) is a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

installation located in Pickel Meadows on California State Route 108 at above sea level in the Toiyabe National Forest, northwest of

Bridgeport, California Bridgeport is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Mono County, California, United States. It is the Mono county seat. The population was 553 at the 2020 census. The first post office at Bridgeport opened in 1864. The ...

. The training center exists to train units in complex compartmented terrain.

Mission

The Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center, as a major subordinate element of

Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), also known as 29 Palms, is the largest United States Marine Corps base. It was a census-designated place (CDP) officially known as Twentynine Palms Base located adjacent to the city of Twentynin ...

, and with support from

Marine Corps Installations West Marine Corps Installations West (MCI WEST) is the regional authority tasked with providing support and oversight of seven United States Marine Corps installations on the West Coast. Function Its functions are to implement policies, develop r ...

, conducts unit and individual training courses to prepare USMC, Joint, and Allied Forces for operations in mountainous, high altitude, and cold weather environments in support of the Regional Combatant Commanders. Additionally, MWTC provides support to

Marine Corps Combat Development Command Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC), located at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Prince William County, Virginia, has the mission of supporting the development of future operational concepts and the determination of how to best organize, ...

(MCCDC); Training and Education Command;

Marine Corps Systems Command Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) is the acquisition command of the United States Marine Corps, made up of Marines, sailors, civilians and contractors. As the only systems command in the Marine Corps, MCSC serves as Head of Contracting Authori ...

; and other USMC and

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

(DOD) agencies engaged in the development of war-fighting doctrine and specialized equipment for use in mountain and cold weather operations.MWTC Command and Staff "A Training Complex for Complex Terrain"
/ref>

History

The Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC) is one of the Corps' most remote and isolated posts. The center was established in 1951 as the Cold Weather Battalion with a mission of providing cold-weather training for replacement personnel bound for

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. After the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, in 1963, the school was renamed the "Mountain Warfare Training Center" due to its expanded role. During the 1980s, the Training Center's focus was on training and preparing Marines and operational units for deployments on

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

's Northern flank, particularly

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 ...

. Recently, with the Global

War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant ...

, the MWTC provided pre-deployment training in support of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

—the

war in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...

Operating areas

MWTC is located in Pickel Meadows of the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Lake Tahoe on of mountainous terrain with elevations from – 11,000 ft. Other areas utilized by MWTC: Sweetwater Airstrip ,

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of , it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades ...

, the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada (U.S.) and

Hawthorne Army Depot Hawthorne Army Depot (HWAD) is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command ammunition storage depot located near the town of Hawthorne in western Nevada in the United States. It is directly south of Walker Lake. The depot covers or 226 sq. mi. and ...

for live fire exercises.

Installation capabilities

*Billeting facilities to support 1200+ training personnel *Chowhall to support permanent and training personnel *Naval Hospital Branch Clinic *

Mountain Warfare Fire & Emergency Services A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

*Base Security Forces / PMO *Classrooms and base theater *1007' VSTOL-capable Expeditionary Airfield (EAF) *Fleet of BV 206 restricted terrain vehicles

Bandvagn 206 Bandvagn 206 (Bv 206) (meaning ''"Tracked Vehicle 206"'' in English) is a tracked articulated, all-terrain carrier developed by Hägglunds (now part of BAE Systems Platforms & Services) for the Swedish Army. It consists of two units, with all f ...

*Stables and

pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft anim ...

s *Specialized technical mountaineering and ski equipment *Modern Range Operations Center *Multiple small arms ranges *Multiple rock climbing training areas *Multiple stream crossing sites *Ski Lift *Avalanche training site *Unit/Combat Operations Center *MCCS, Post Exchange, Single Marine Program, Fitness Center and Rock Training/Climbing wall *The Pickel Post, Base Newsletter *Family Housing for Permanent personnel

School of Mountain Warfare

Formal courses and training programs offered

*Mountain Communications Course *Mountain / Cold Weather Pre-Environmental Training *Mountain Operations Staff Planning Course *Summer and Winter Mountain Leader Courses *Mountain / Cold Weather

Scout Sniper United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper (MOS 0317, formerly 8541) is a secondary MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) designator of U.S. Marine Corps infantrymen and reconnaissance Marines that have graduated from a U.S. Marine Corps Scout Snipe ...

Course *Assault Climber Course *Scout Skier Course *Mountain / Cold Weather Survival Course *Mountain / Cold Weather Medicine Course *OSV (Over the Snow Vehicle) / rough terrain driver training *Animal Packing Course *Special Operation Forces (SOF) Horsemanship Course * Mountain / Winter Engineer Course Most courses require a first class Physical Fitness Test, typically conducted on Training Day 1.

Pre-Deployment Training Programs (PTP)

*Mountain Exercise (MTX) (revamped summer/winter package customized per METL) (2010–present) **Training for all USMC MAGTF elements/units for OEF *Mountain Warrior **Training for USMC battalions headed to Afghanistan to participate in combat operations in support of OEF. Exercise Mountain Warrior was directed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps as an alternate training venue to Exercise Mojave Viper (EMV) (Mojave Viper) due to insufficient throughput capacity of EMV at

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), also known as 29 Palms, is the largest United States Marine Corps base. It was a census-designated place (CDP) officially known as Twentynine Palms Base located adjacent to the city of Twentynin ...

. (2009–2010) *Mountain Viper **Training for USMC Embedded Training Teams (ETTs) for OEF (2006–2009)

MWI (Mountain Warfare Instructor, a.k.a. Red Hats) Training

Basic MWI

*MLC or IQC (Instructor Qualification Course) Graduate, Seasonal *BIC (Basic Instructor Course) *SAT (Systems Approach to Training) and ORM (Operational Risk Management) Online Courses *ORM (Operational Risk Management) *RSO (Range Safety Officer) *225 score on the

United States Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test The United States Marine Corps requires that all Marines perform a Physical Fitness Test (PFT) and a Combat Fitness Test (CFT) once each calendar year. Each test must be held at an interval of six months. The same standards apply for reservis ...

(PFT) unadjusted for age or altitude *Recommendation from Course Chief

Senior MWI

*Summer and Winter Mountain Leader Course (or IQC) *Completed AIARE Level 1 Avalanche CourseAIARE
/ref> *Qualify as a BSI (Basic Ski Instructor) *Complete Snow II Clinic *Complete Rock II Clinic *Complete Alpine II Clinic *Certified as a Wilderness First Responder or higher *Completed 20 hours of platform Instruction *Recommendation from OIC.

Master MWI

*Completed AIARE Avalanche Level 2 or Level 1 Instructor Course *Qualify as a MSI (Military Ski Instructor). *Complete Snow III Clinic *Complete Rock III Clinic *Complete Alpine III Clinic *Completed 40 hours of platform Instruction *Recommendation from OIC.

References

External links

* {{CAMilitary, state=autocollapse Buildings and structures in Mono County, California MWTC United States Marine Corps schools

1951 establishments in California