Camp Bullis

Camp Bullis
Bexar County, Texas, USA
Forward command post at Camp Bullis during the PANAMAX annual exercise, 2009
Type	Military installation
Site information
Controlled by	United States Air Force
Site history
Built	1917
In use	1917-present

Coordinates: 29°41′N 98°34′W / 29.683°N 98.567°W / 29.683; -98.567

Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a U.S. Army training camp comprising 27,990 acres (113.3 km²) in Bexar County, Texas, USA, just northwest of San Antonio. The camp is named for Brigadier General John L. Bullis,

Camp Bullis and Camp Stanley make up the Leon Springs Military Reservation. Camp Bullis is used primarily as maneuvering grounds for U.S. Army, Air Force and Marines combat units. It is also utilized as a field training site for the various medical units stationed at Brooke Army Medical Center in nearby Fort Sam Houston.

In 1906 United States military bought over 17,000 acres from all or parts of six ranches. This area was designated the Leon Springs Military Reservation and was to be used as a maneuvers and training area for troops based at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Leon Springs was praised for its sparse population and varied terrain. Use of the new training area began almost immediately. In July and August 1907, the target ranges in present-day Camp Stanley were used for the Southwestern Rifle and Pistol Competition. The first major maneuvers were held in 1908, involving regular army and National Guard infantry, cavalry, and field artillery units. The first documented firing of artillery occurred in 1909. Mobilization of troops in response to upheavals in Mexico in 1911 led to large-scale maneuvers at the Reservation. With the increased tensions along the United States-Mexico border between 1912 and 1916, activity at the Reservation decreased as troops from Fort Sam Houston were deployed along the border. Activity increased again in 1916, as large numbers of troops were called up for training after the raid of Columbus, New Mexico, by Pancho Villa. Also in 1916, a large remount station was built near Anderson Hill in present-day Camp Stanley (Texas). In February 1917, the facilities at the reservation were renamed Camp Funston in honor of Major General Frederick Funston. In May 1917 while preparing for World War I, Camp Funston established the First Officers Training Camp (FOTC). Drills and training at the FOTC included practice marches, target practice, and trench warfare training. Officers of the FOTC graduated in August 1917, after which a Second Series Officer Training Camp began.