Fort Irwin NTC Main Post Area | fortification

 fortification  Add category

 Upload a photo

The National Training Center (NTC)
www.irwin.army.mil/

The entire reservation encompasses more than 642,000 acres of training area with the northern boundary less than 1.7 NM (3 km) from Death Valley National Monument. The San Bernadino and San Gabriel Mountains extend in an east-west path 73 NM (135 km) southwest of Bicycle Lake. The Sierra Nevada Mountains, oriented north- to south, are to the west. Elevations in excess of 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) are common in these ranges.

In 1981, when Fort Irwin was designated the National Training Center, U.S. Army tactics were structured around equipment that could effectively engage an enemy at ranges of 1 to 12 miles. Today's Army equipment effectively engages an enemy at ranges up to 60 miles away. Also, the pace of tactical operations has increased from 10 miles per hour to more than 25 miles per hour. A modern tank can now reach speeds of more than 60 MPH. Experience in the Desert Storm operation, has also confirmed the need to train heavy mechanized units in larger, brigade-sized assemblages. Modern tactics involve a more diffuse, faster moving array. The result is a greater number of soldiers and equipment spread over larger land areas. Therefore, the current lands at the NTC are not adequate to realistically support the changes in distance and pace of equipment, along with the training needs of today's brigade-sized units.