FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
A group of elected officials from surrounding communities visited Fort Indiantown Gap on Oct. 18 to learn more about what goes on at the installation.
The group included 12 officials from Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties. After receiving briefings at the Community Club, they visited the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, where some of them had the opportunity try a helicopter simulator.
The briefings covered numerous topics, including the installation’s facilities and capabilities, the different types of training conducted here, environmental stewardship, an update on the access-control point construction project and the Army’s compatible use buffer program, which helps limit encroachment and maintain a balance among military training requirements, community desires and environmental protection.
"This meeting was a great opportunity to meet some of the local elected officials and give them an idea of what goes on here at Fort Indiantown Gap,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Potts, Fort Indiantown Gap’s garrison commander. “There are so many great things happening here, and we wanted to show them a little of what goes on.
“We also strive to be good neighbors in the community, and we wanted to listen to any concerns they might have about what we do here," Potts added.
Fort Indiantown Gap covers over 17,000 acres in northern Lebanon and Dauphin counties. It is home to the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Pennsylvania National Guard as well as numerous tenant organizations, and it is the primary training site for the Pennsylvania National Guard.
It is the only Level II National Guard training center in the northeast United States, meaning it has billeting for a brigade, maneuver acreage for a company-plus, individual and crew-served weapons ranges and squad and team collective ranges.
Fort Indiantown Gap is among the busiest National Guard training sites in the country, annually hosting over 100,000 personnel, including active-duty and reserve component military personnel and law-enforcement officers.
The event was part of the installation’s ongoing efforts of community outreach and partnership to keep neighboring municipalities informed and engaged.
“We couldn’t complete our mission without your support,” David Weisnicht, deputy base operations manager, told the officials.