CAMP RIPLEY Camp Ripley Public Affairs Office 15000 HWY 115 Little Falls, MN 56345 (320) 616-3122 www.minnesotanationalguard.org/campripley ANNUAL REPORt 2010
Personnel and Community Activities Community Activities Food Drive The Mission of Camp Ripley To provide the best support, facilities and resources enabling customers to train in a realistic environment while maintaining positive community relations. Each year, Camp Ripley employees work together to help provide food for local food shelves. This year more than 500lbs were donated. Memorilization In 2010 Camp Ripley conducted the memorilization ceremony inducting former members of the Minnesota National Guard into the Court of Honor. In 2010 the Minnesota National Guard inducted MG Rick D. Erlandson, MG (BVT) Harry A. Sieben, BG Nicholas Ostapenko, BG (BVT) Dennis J. Lord, COL Dirk L. Gasterland, LTC Nathan Thomas, CW5 Thomas D. Wilharber and SGM Anthony R. Nathe. Also during the ceremony the surviving members of the 194th Tank Battalion, who survived the Bataan Death March, were given special recognition. 15
Personnel and Community Activities Community Activities The Personnel and Community Activities Office is responsible for coordinating, executing and tracking special events that occur at Camp Ripley. During 2010 the PCA office had several special events. Some of these include: Blood Drives with the American Red Cross The American Red Cross sends a team to Camp Ripley several times this year. In 2010 there were 3 blood drives conducted at Camp Ripley with a goal of 180 usable donations. The men and women of Camp Ripley donated 184 units of blood. Guest Speakers Camp Ripley personnel are happy to support local organizations and talk about activities that impact the local area. Camp Ripley receives requests for personnel to speak at events held by businesses, civic groups, schools and more. Volunteering in the Area The Employees and Guard Members of the Minnesota National Guard at Camp Ripley give back to the community in many ways. During 2010, the men and women of Camp Ripley volunteered more than 1,000 hours of their time. Gift Tag Program The PCA Office assists local communities to purchase gifts for area under priviliaged children to ensure they have a gift for the holidays. This project is coordinated by the PCA office but involves all the offices at Camp Ripley. 14 From the Desk of COL Scott St. Sauver Camp Ripley Post Commander As 2010 draws to a conclusion we take time to reflect on the accomplishments of Camp Ripley over this tremendous year. Camp Ripley s capabilities continue to expand providing our military and civilian customers with state-of-the-art training. The Camp Ripley staff remains dedicated to our mission of providing the best support to customers ensuring we continue to garner their loyalty. The challenge remains assisting commanders in attaining their training objectives in support of current and future operations at home and overseas. Camp Ripley experienced increased thru-put at levels not seen in many years with the pre-deployment training of the 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams of the 34th Infantry Division. With both units conducting the Exportable Combat Training Concept, installation capabilities were increased through expansion of base infrastructure and support expertise. 2010 was also a year of continued growth for Camp Ripley. As we near completion of the Combined Arms Collective Training Facility we look forward to providing customers with the best combat training facilities in the Army inventory. We also broke ground on the Emergency Management Center and when it opens next year it will foster new domestic training venues from small municipalities to State and Federal organizations. We continue looking for new and improved technology ensuring we remain on the cutting edge providing on-target training opportunities preparing our customers for current and future missions. The first year of my command was exciting and the operational tempo of the upcoming year looks to challenge us even more to remain The Warrior s Choice. 3
Capital Assets Capital Assets Environmental Highlights Environmental Highlights 2,646,487 Square Feet of Buildings 52,831 Acres of Land 20 Miles of Paved Roads 148 Miles of Primary Gravel Roads 86 Miles of Secondary Gravel Roads 6,100 Feet of Bituminous Runway Both DNR and BWSR are working together with willing land owners to limit development around Camp Ripley. As of 2010, $14.9 million in federal funding has been received. Not only will this program protect Camp Ripley s mission, but it will also benefit the high quality natural resources of the area. Hunts at Camp Ripley Outreach and recreation opportunities have always been an important part of Camp Ripley s mission of adding value to the community and 2010 was no exception. Several hunts were again offered at Camp Ripley for the benefit of Disabled American Veterans, Youth, Deployed Soldiers and the general public. In addition to special archery deer hunts for youth and the general public, Camp Ripley is now sponsoring spring turkey hunts for Disabled Veterans and Deployed Soldiers. The Minnesota Department of Military Affairs (DMA) will be accepting applications for the Camp Ripley and Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) Deployed Soldier Turkey and Deer Hunts again in 2011. Permits will be available to Minnesota Army and Air National Guard Soldiers that have been mobilized to support the Global War on Terrorism since September 11, 2001. For more information about the hunts please contact the individuals located at the Camp Ripley Training Site Headquarters, 15000 Highway 115, Little Falls, MN 56345. 3,500 Feet of Tactical Assault Runway 2,500 Feet of Bituminous Taxiway 2 Miles of Railway with Heavy Equipment Loading Facility Roxann Slimmer roxann.slimmer@us.army.mil or phone at (320) 616-2699 Jay Brezinka jay.brezinka1@us.army.mil or phone (320) 616-2720 4 13
Environmental Office at Camp Ripley Construction Environmental Office Construction Camp Ripley is proud of its reputation of conserving and preserving its natural and cultural resources. Because Camp Ripley has excelled in its role as environmental stewards, these resources will be available for future generations. Camp Ripley s unique ecological setting within the Prairie-Forest Region has created an extremely diverse landscape from a biological perspective. In fact, the Camp Ripley landscape has been recognized as one of the most functional and intact landscapes in the Midwest. The highly diverse plant and animal life that has been documented at Camp Ripley is a reflection of the quality of the landscape including more than 600 plant species, 228 migratory and resident bird species, 51 mammal species, 23 reptiles and amphibian species, and 71 species of butterflies. The Audubon Society recently designated Camp Ripley and the surrounding area as an Important Birding Area due to the diversity of bird life. The Camp Ripley Training and Community Center includes an environmental classroom that is intended for environmental awareness training and community outreach. In 2010, the classroom was used for 120 presentations to approximately 5,000 visitors. Other environmental outreach programs include Earth Day, National Public Lands Day, County Water Festival, and Habitat Day. The Environmental Classroom houses approximately 250 mounted species of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles and amphibians all of which have been documented on Camp Ripley. The classroom also has mammal skulls and hides and a collection of insects, including butterflies and dragonflies that have been documented on Camp Ripley. Army Compatible Use Buffer The Camp Ripley Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program was initiated in 2004. The program focuses on protecting Camp Ripley s mission from pressures of development (also known as encroachment) within Camp Ripley s three-mile buffer. This ensures protection of the military mission and prevents negative impacts on future residents. Partnerships were created with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR). State Contracts awarded for Construction and Maintenance / Repair Construction of contemporary operating environment training facility $3,980,338 Building 14-607 (Shoot House) Heating and ventilation renovations $237,838 Site Improvements for exportable combat training capability $1,159,398 Phase 1 & 3: Road and utility infrastructure improvements $2,681,010 Phase 2 & 5: Road and utility infrastructure improvements $4,072,816 Sealing of Exterior Masonry Buildings (areas 7, 9, and 10) $234,455 Window replacement at building 11-1 $215,365 Metal roofs for buildings: 2-203, 2-212, 2-2, 2-215, 2-219, 2-266, and 8-1 $1,358,940 Roof replacement buildings 6-76 and 1-63 $725,375 Crushing of recycled bituminous and concrete $214,420 Production of crushed aggregate (150,000 ton) $208,000 Replace ultraviolet disinfection equipment at waste water treatment facility $99,100 Design services for infantry squad battle course $313,486 Design services for multipurpose machine gun range/heavy sniper $555,587 Interagency agreements with St. Cloud State $765,666 Interagency agreements with Department of Natural Resources $105,725 Interagency agreements with St. Cloud Technical College $18,100 Miscellaneous projects $1,845,863 Procurement Actions $8,126,433 Grand Total $26,917,915 East Range Upgrades Future Projects Unmanned Aerial Systems Facility at Miller Army Airfield Renovations to Building 8-195 MWR ATS Unheated Storage Building at Convoy Live Fire Range Urban Assault Course Field Leader Reaction Course 12 5
Camp Ripley Payroll Camp Ripley Payroll Family Assistance Center Family Assistance Center State Pay and Expenditures $9,281,950.00 Federal Pay and Expenditures $93,010,686.00 Personnel The mission of the Family Assistance Center (FAC) is to assist all military families wherever they are regardless of branch of service. The FAC at Camp Ripley is staffed by two full-time employees. In 2010, the FAC at Camp Ripley made 17,321 contacts for some form of assistance. Statewide, more than 79,690 contacts were recorded by the 9 geographically located offices. Assistance ranged from emergency repairs to homes and automobiles, utilities assistance, emergency travel, funds for families to visit injured service members, home mortgage and other unforeseen or unexpected expenses. 326 233 109 1,463 Unit Members Technicians State Active Guard / Reserve The FAC can facilitate grants to families of deployed service members of all branches of the military who have emergency needs. In FY 2009 177 grants were given out with the average being $1,835.00. These grants are administered by the Minnesota Military Family Foundation, a 501C3 foundation, which has been set up to receive donations from corporations and individuals. A portion of the Support Our Troops license plate fees also help this fund. The FACs were extremely busy this past year with the return of deployed service members. Staff was involved with organizing and conducting training activities both before mobilization and post mobilization. It is a goal of the staff and many others in the state to ensure that these service members and families make a smooth transition back to civilian life. FACs are intended to simplify the process of accessing needed services and support for families of service members. The primary mission of any FAC is to inform and emotionally support families of all military branches so the military member can perform his or her mission. 6 11
Operations Operations Military personnel utilize Camp Ripley for a variety of training needs. These needs include individual and crew served weapons qualification, utilization of urban warfare facilities, live fire ranges, training on simulators, airfield operations, professional development courses and completing Soldier Readiness Processing (SRP) to name a few. During 2010, military personnel logged approximately 302,745 mandays. Although the Minnesota Army and Air National Guard serve as the primary customer, National Guard units from other states, as well as Active Duty and Reserve branches utilize Camp Ripley. In 2010 Camp Ripley hosted the Exportable Combat Training Capability (XCTC) for two Brigade Combat Teams from Iowa and Minnesota totaling 161,852 Soldiers trained with 22,129 civilians in support. Camp Ripley is also utilized by a variety of civilian agencies, civic and youth groups for training. Camp Ripley has several partnerships with state agencies including: Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota State Patrol. During 2010, civilians logged 65,738 man-days while training at Camp Ripley. Camp Ripley is always looking to improve the training opportunities for its military and civilian customers, as well as joint training opportunities. Customers are encouraged to provide feedback and input for our long-range planning process. 10 Personnel Personnel Army National Guard Units Assigned to Camp Ripley Unit Numbers Assigned Training Center Support Unit Joint Force Headquarters Det. 2 Regional Training Site-Maint Regional Training Institute MN FSC 2-136 HQ 134th BSB Co. B 134th BSB Co. E 134th BSB Co. F 134th BSB 851st Vertical Engineers 1/189 Aviation Battalion Total 179 140 14 80 148 109 139 180 266 167 41 1,463 Veterans and Retired Military Personnel Near Camp Ripley - By County Aitkin Cass County Crow Wing Mille Lacs Morrison Todd Total 2,460 4,108 6,912 2,662 3,340 2,635 22,117 Data Source - U.S. Census, 2000 7
United States Property and Fiscal Office Recapitulation Property and Fiscal Office Recapitulation United States Property and Fiscal Office Contract Dining $774,446 Laundry $79,295 Ice Contract $40,000 Total Expenditures FY 2010 $893,741 Camp Ripley Utilities Electric $894,905 Gas $406,937 Solid Waste $91,000 Propane $18,416 Total $1,411,258 Local Purchased Food Reinhart $881,302 Payroll $102,292,636 Military Retirees $28,105,137 Projects $26,917,915 Financial Assistance $165,000 Local Contracts $893,741 Utilities $1,411,258 Food $881,302 Army Compatible Use Buffer $2,808,000 Total $163,310,154 Total Impact $352,602,953 Based on a multiplier index of 2.1591 8 9