MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Representatives Johnson (87th), Touchstone, Byrd, Huddleston (15th), Barker, Watson, McNeal, Ladner, Pigott, Morgan, Brown, Bell (21st)
A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE REMARKABLE FEATS OF CAMP SHELBY UPON THE AUSPICIOUS OCCASION OF ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY.
WHEREAS, 100 years ago, in 1917, the largest state-owned training facility in the nation, Camp Shelby, was established in Mississippi, with its North Gate located at the southern boundary of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on United States Highway 49, and encompassing over 525 square kilometers and more than 134,820 acres of Perry and Forrest Counties; and
WHEREAS, while the initial location choice was Meridian with Biloxi serving as an alternate, Dr. Walter W. Crawford and Dr. George McHenry were key figures in lobbying General Leonard Wood to visit the beautiful Hattiesburg, Mississippi, as a possible site location, and at first sight, General Wood was sold on the location and impressed with the community that was so willing to support the installation; and
WHEREAS, Camp Shelby was named for Governor Issac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky and a renowned soldier, serving as a Colonel in the Virginia militia during the Revolutionary War, as a militiaman in the Kentucky and Indiana territories, and as the leader of his state's militia during the War of 1812, solidifying victory for his American troops at the Battle of the Thames in Canada in 1813; and
WHEREAS, Major General William Hamden Sage was the first commander of Camp Shelby, and he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valor, bravery and fortitude during the Philippine Insurrection; and
WHEREAS, during wartime, Camp Shelby's mission is to serve as a major independent mobilization station of the United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM), and it allows up to battalion-level maneuver training, Gunnery Table 8-12, field artillery firing points and a wide range of support facilities; and
WHEREAS, Camp Shelby also serves as the Annual Training location for National Guard and Reserve units located in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, the training ground for the Abrams M1 Tank, Paladin Howitzers, the home to the 3rd Brigade 87th Division Training Support and also operates as the site that units across the country utilize for its assets to support numerous different missions; and
WHEREAS, additionally, the 2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery conducts its gunnery training at Camp Shelby and stores the bulk of its combat equipment in the Mobilization and Annual Training Equipment Site (MATES) located at the site; and
WHEREAS, Camp Shelby has also been the training site for the famous Japanese-American 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the 100th Battalion during World War II and the Women's Army Corps, and the camp once housed a prisoner of war camp that imprisoned soldiers of the German Afrika Corps; and
WHEREAS, on June 6, 2004, Camp Shelby was federalized as a FORSCOM Mobilization Center, and since that time, several Regimental or Brigade Combat Teams have mobilized through the camp, including the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Tennessee Army National Guard); the 155th Heavy Brigade Combat Team (MS ARNG); the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division (PA ARNG); the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division (PA ARNG); the 53rd Brigade Combat Team (FL ARNG); the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division (MN ARNG); the 41st Brigade Combat Team (OR ARNG); the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (LA ARNG); the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (ID ARNG); the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (NY ARNG); and the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (GA ARNG); and
WHEREAS, in addition to fulfilling its obligations as a FORSCOM Mobilization Center, Camp Shelby is the field training exercises site for the United States Navy Seabees mobilized from the Naval Construction Battalion in Gulfport, as well as serving as home to the state's only military structured GED and high school diploma program, the Youth Challenge Academy; and
WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend fine institutions in Mississippi that have left a profound impact on its history and continue to serve a positive, vital role in its present and future, training the elite military men and women of the United States Armed Forces:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby recognize and honor the remarkable feats of Camp Shelby upon the auspicious occasion of its 100th anniversary and express best wishes for its success and growth in the future.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Commander of Camp Shelby and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.