Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville (previously Camp Beauregard) is a Louisiana National Guard installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main training areas.
The current base covers 12,500 acres (51 km2) and is home to many different units and elements of the Louisiana Army National Guard. The camp was originally named for Louisiana native and Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard. [1] Camp Beauregard was one of ten U.S. Army installations named for former Confederate Generals. [2]
Inspired by the work of the Federal Naming Commission, the Louisiana National Guard began the process of soliciting potential replacement names for Camp Beauregard from the general public in September 2022 even though the State of Louisiana was not legally required to do so. [3] In March 2023, a list of six names were sent to Louisiana Army National Guard Adjutant General, Major General Keith Waddell, for his consideration. [4] The Louisiana Army National Guard announced in April 2023 that the military installation would be renamed Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville later that year. [5] The name change occurred in October 2023. [6]
The beginnings of the existing post date back to 1917, when the War Department authorized the building of more than thirty camps around the country to train troops for World War I. The 17th Division was organized in 1918 as a National Army division for World War I. The 17th Division included the 33rd Infantry Brigade (September 1918-February 1919), with the 5th and 83rd Regiments, and the 34th Brigade with the 29th and 84th Regiments. [7] The 5th Infantry Regiment was assigned on 27 July 1918 to the 17th Division and relieved on 10 February 1919. The 17th Division was intended to be a replacement and school division. The 17th Division did not go overseas and demobilized in February 1919 at Camp Beauregard. In 1919, the camp was abandoned and given to the state.
In 1940, Camp Beauregard was returned to the U.S. government for use as a World War II training area. During this time period Beauregard became very busy. The area had been effectively deforested in previous years and was unusable for agriculture. The camp, and several tens of thousands of acres of surrounding land, including Camp Claiborne, Camp Livingston, Camp Cook, Fort Polk and what is now Esler Regional Airport were used for the Louisiana Maneuvers, a training exercise involving almost 500,000 men, preparing for the battles of World War II. Two-thirds of the U.S. military rotated through these war games. A large part of the State of Louisiana, centered on these large camps, became almost an occupied territory. After World War II, the camp was returned to the state, which used it as a training area for two years and then deactivated it.
In 1973, the camp was reactivated, and became one of the premier military training areas in Louisiana. Since then, most of the old buildings have either been torn down or remodeled, and many new buildings have been constructed.
The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Louisiana Army National Guard often makes use of the camp's training and lodging facilities. The 225th Engineer Brigade, the largest engineer group in the army, has its headquarters at Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville. The 199th Regiment (RTI) is also headquartered at the training center.
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections operated the J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center adjacent to the Louisiana National Guard base on the camp property. [8] until it closed in July 2012. [9] The United States Marshals Service Tactical Operations Center maintains a small, full-time operational cadre of its Special Operations Group. [10]
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located across the Red River from the larger Alexandria, and is part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,555 at the 2010 census. It had been 13,829 in 2000; population hence grew by 5 percent over the preceding decade.
The 2nd Infantry Division ("Indianhead") is a formation of the United States Army. Since the 1960s, its current primary mission is the pre-emptive defense of South Korea in the event of an invasion from North Korea. There are approximately 17,000 soldiers in the 2nd Infantry Division, with 10,000 of them stationed in South Korea, accounting for about 35% of the United States Forces Korea personnel. Denoted the 2nd Infantry Division-ROK/U.S. Combined Division (2ID/RUCD), the division is augmented by rotational Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) from other U.S. Army divisions.
Fort Moore is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Moore supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees on a daily basis. As a power projection platform, the post can deploy combat-ready forces by air, rail, and highway for their designated mission. Fort Moore is the home of the United States Army Maneuver Center of Excellence, the United States Army Armor School, United States Army Infantry School, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade, and other tenant units.
The 6th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the United States Army active in World War I, World War II, and the last years of the Cold War. Known as "Red Star", it was previously called the "Sight Seein' Sixth".
The 31st Infantry Division ("Dixie") was an infantry division of the United States Army National Guard, active almost continuously from 1917 to 1968. Composed of men from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Mississippi at various points in its existence, the division saw service in both World War I and World War II, and was mobilized during the Korean War, although it was not sent overseas in the latter.
The 33rd Infantry Division was a formation of the U.S. Army National Guard between 1917 and 1968. Originally formed for service during World War I, the division fought along the Western Front during the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of Hamel, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, at the Second Battle of the Somme, and at the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. It was re-formed during the inter-war period, and then later activated for service during World War II, seeing action against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific. In the post war era, the division was reconstituted as an all-Illinois National Guard division. In the late 1960s, the division was reduced to a brigade-sized formation, and its lineage is currently perpetuated by the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Fort Eisenhower, formerly known as Fort Gordon and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cyber Command, and the Cyber Center of Excellence as well as the National Security Agency/Central Security Service' Georgia Cryptologic Center. It was once the home of the Provost Marshal General School and Civil Affairs School. Fort Eisenhower is one of the largest US Army installations in the world with more than 16,000 military service members and 13,500 civilian personnel assigned to it.
Fort Johnson, formerly Fort Polk, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish.
The Louisiana Army National Guard is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and state missions. When not federalized, the National Guard is the only United States military force empowered to function in a state status. Those functions range from limited actions during non-emergency situations to full scale law enforcement of martial law when local law enforcement officials can no longer maintain civil control. The Louisiana Army National Guard may be called into federal service in response to a call by the President or U.S. Congress.
The 23rd Cavalry Division was a cavalry formation of the United States Army National Guard during the interwar period.
The 142nd Field Artillery Regiment is a United States Army field artillery regiment currently represented in the Arkansas Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion, 142nd Field Artillery, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas; 2nd Battalion, 142nd Field Artillery, headquartered in Barling, Arkansas; and Battery F, 142nd Field Artillery stationed in Fayetteville, Arkansas, elements of the 142nd Field Artillery Brigade which is headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The regiment was created in 1917 from the former 2nd Arkansas Infantry. The 142nd Field Artillery shipped to France during World War I but did not see combat before the cessation of hostilities. The regiment was activated for World War II, but its battalions were redesignated as separate battalions, 1–142nd became the 936th Field Artillery Battalion, the 2–142nd became the 937th Field Artillery Battalion. The battalion's served throughout the European Theater of Operations. The battalions were activated again for the Korean War and served throughout the war. Following the Korean War, the separate battalions resumed their former designations of 1–142nd FA and 2–142nd FA. The 142nd Field Artillery Brigade, including both battalions, was activated for Operation Desert Storm. Elements of the 142nd Fires Brigade have been activated for service in Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 142nd Fires Brigade was instrumental in support and recovery operations located in New Orleans, Louisiana after hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast.
The 17th Division of the United States Army was formed twice during the First World War. It was then recreated a third time as a Second World War 'phantom division' as part of Fortitude South II.
The 39th Infantry Division was an infantry formation of the Army National Guard, originally formed as the 18th Division in 1917. The division consisted of troops from Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. After training at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana, the division was deployed to France but did not see combat before the end of World War I. In July 1923 the division was re-designated as the 31st Infantry Division. The 39th Infantry Division was reactivated after World War II with troops from Louisiana and Arkansas and its headquarters in Louisiana. In 1967, the 39th Infantry Division was reorganized to become the 39th Infantry Brigade (Separate). Its headquarters was in Little Rock and the unit consisted entirely of troops from Arkansas.
The 108th Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the Georgia and Louisiana Army National Guards of the United States Army.
The 156th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army and the Louisiana National Guard. It began as a Confederate Army unit in 1861, and surrendered to the Union at the Battle of Appomattox Court House in 1865. It was reformed in 1878 as a militia unit, and reorganized into the Louisiana National Guard in 1899. It saw support service in World War I. In world War II it served as a guard battalion in Europe, for which it added a lion to its coat of arms to symbolize its service in northern France. It deployed twice during the Iraq war.
The 153d Infantry Regiment is a United States infantry regiment, currently represented in the Arkansas Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry, headquartered at Malvern, Arkansas, and 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry, headquartered at Searcy, Arkansas, elements of the 39th Brigade Combat Team. The regiment was also represented by the 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment headquartered at Warren, Arkansas until that unit was deactivated on 5 September 2005. The regiment was activated as the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Infantry for the Spanish–American War, but did not deploy overseas. The regiment was activated for World War I, redesignated as the 153rd Infantry and shipped to France as a part of the 39th Division, but became a replacement division and personnel were reassigned to other AEF units. The regiment was activated for World War II and deployed to the Aleutian Islands, participating in the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Recently, elements of the regiment have participated in two deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2004 and again in 2008.
J. Levy Dabadie Correctional Center was a men's prison adjacent to the Louisiana National Guard base on the grounds of Camp Beauregard and in Pineville, Louisiana. A facility of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, JLDCC is about 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the intersection of U.S. Route 165 and Louisiana Highway 116.
The 154th Regiment (Regional Training Institute) ("Third Arkansas") is a training regiment/institute of the Army National Guard. Most of its history before the 1990s can be traced to the 154th Infantry Regiment which was created from the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiment, Arkansas National Guard, in 1917. The Regiment was activated as for World War I, re-designated as the 154th Infantry and shipped to France as a part of the 39th Infantry Division, but became a replacement regiment and its personnel were reassigned to other American Expeditionary Force (AEF) units.
Preston Pond Jr. was a lawyer and politician from Louisiana, who served as a colonel in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.