Camp Gruber
| Camp Gruber Training Center | |
|---|---|
| Part of Oklahoma National Guard United States Army |
|
| Muskogee County, near Braggs, Oklahoma | |
| Coordinates | 35°40′33.62″N 95°11′12.95″W / 35.6760056°N 95.1869306°W |
| Type | National Guard Training Center |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Federal Government |
| Controlled by | Oklahoma Military Department, (OMD) |
| Open to the public |
Prior Permission needed |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| Built by | United States Army |
| In use | 1942-1947 1967-Present |
| Battles/wars | World War II, Cold War |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Braggs, Oklahoma |
| Occupants | Oklahoma Army National Guard |
Camp Gruber is an Oklahoma Army National Guard (OKARNG) training facility used for Training of OKARNG soldiers. It covers a total of 87 square miles (230 km2). The base is named after Brigadier General Edmund L. Gruber, a noted artillery officer and the composer of the Army's official song, "The Army Goes Rolling Along". Camp Gruber is located near Braggs, Oklahoma in the Cookson Hills, about 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Muskogee, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Wildlife Department and the OKARNG have in place an agreement that allows limited hunting by civilians on the base.
The outbreak of the Second World War in Europe in September 1939 prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to declare a limited national emergency on September 8 and step up military preparedness efforts. By June 1940 Congressional measures had augmented the federal budget for construction of arms and munitions plants, coastal defenses, and military training camps and expansion of existing bases. In 1939 the nation's armed forces numbered only 200,000, but plans for a six-million-man army had been made.
The War Department had carefully developed mobilization plans in 1938 and 1939, and in 1941-42 eighty-four new camps were under construction or were approved. Because Oklahoma's location, climate, natural resources, and large available work force were optimum, the War Department considered the state a good site for pilot and infantry training fields. An infantry training camp was to be built near Braggs, in the Cookson Hills.
In 1935 and 1936 the U.S. Department of Agriculture had acquired nearly 30,000 acres (120 km2) of "submarginal" farm land in eastern Oklahoma, of which 27,322.23 acres (111 km2) was already under federal stewardship as a parks/recreation project. More land was acquired through condemnation. These condemnations included the taking of approximately 32,000 acres (130 km2) of restricted land held by the Cherokee Nation.
...
Wikipedia