For the third time in four years, Fort Indiantown Gap has been named the busiest National Guard training center in the U.S.
In an announcement last week, FTIG spokesman Brad Rhen noted that the repeat distinction is for fiscal year 2023, which ended Sept. 30. During that periodd, Rhen said in the release, “the installation hosted 139,391 personnel for a total of 858,523 man-days.”
“Man-days,” he explained, “are a computation of the number of personnel multiplied by the number of days they trained on post.”
Total numbers are up from FY2022 when the facility hosted 129,885 personnel for 688,833 man-days.
According to the report, Camp Shelby, Mississippi, was second in 2023 with 761,164 man-days, and Fort Stewart, Georgia, was third with 559,877 man-days.
Fort Indiantown Gap was previously cited as the busiest training center in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021. FTIG has been in the top three every year since 2013.
“We are all very proud of being the National Guard’s busiest post again in 2023; however, that high throughput is due to outstanding customer support given by the team here at Fort Indiantown Gap,” said Col. Kevin Potts, garrison commander, said in a statement. “That team also includes the state workers and contractors who help my team on a daily basis with upkeep and repair of ranges and facilities around post.”
New control access point opens for use today
In unrelated FTIG news, construction of the base’s main access control point is complete and will go into operation Wednesday, Nov. 1.
The new access control point is located on Fisher Avenue near Biddle Drive.
Read More: New access control point at Fort Indiantown Gap set to open Nov. 1
The control access point will be dedicated during a special ceremony at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The event is not open to the public; however, watch LebTown for coverage of the ceremony.
After the access point is put into use, anyone visiting the base will need to present a valid state or federally issued ID card to be granted access, according to Major Travis Mueller, public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard. A day pass will be issued to visitors who possess valid identification, such as a state driver’s license or a U.S. passport.
According to a previous LebTown report, the ACP will open for use at 1 p.m. All other FTIG entrances will be permanently closed to traffic at that time.
Mueller said in his release that Col. Potts and Nathan Gerace, district director for Pennsylvania’s 9th Congressional District, will share remarks during the ceremony. Major Gen. Mark Schindler, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania, and dignitaries will cut a ribbon signifying the opening of the ACP.
Read More: Fort Indiantown Gap base commander values his role and career of service
Primary training site for the PA National Guard
According to Rhen’s report, Fort Indiantown Gap covers more than 17,000 acres in northern Lebanon and Dauphin counties and offers numerous ranges, training facilities and simulators. It is the primary training site for the Pennsylvania National Guard and regularly hosts personnel from all branches of the military, both active-duty and reserve-component, as well as personnel from foreign militaries, law enforcement and local, state and federal agencies.
The installation is also home to several schools, including the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, the 166th Regiment Regional Training Institute, the Regional Equipment Operators Training Site, the Lightning Force Academy and the Northeast Counter Drug Training Center.
Lt. Col. Gordon Kinneer, Fort Indiantown Gap’s director of plans, operations, training and security, noted that Fort Indiantown Gap isn’t the largest training center size-wise, so it must be very efficient in its use of ranges and training areas.
“At just over 17,000 acres, every range and training area has to be multipurpose,” Kinneer said. “We can’t afford to squander our limited resources on large ranges and training areas that service one capability or training requirement.”
Fort Indiantown Gap is continually looking at ways to improve and expand its offerings, he added. The directorate of plans, operations, training and security works tirelessly to receive bottom-up refinement from units training on post and work those suggestions into range and training area updates and designs, he said.
“We don’t like to say no, and we try to be as creative as possible to fit units in the jigsaw puzzle that is the training corridor footprint on any given weekend,” Kinneer told Rhen. “Coupled with a world class Range Maintenance, Range Scheduling, Fires Desk and Training Center support staff, we ensure our customer base is able to execute whatever training event they have scheduled on Fort Indiantown Gap. That’s what keeps units coming back and keeps us number one year after year.”
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