FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
Local elected officials attended a briefing and tour of the installation on June 10.
About a dozen elected officials from Dauphin, Lebanon and Schuylkill counties were given a briefing at the Fort Indiantown Gap Community Club followed by a tour of the installation, including a stop at a virtual training facility.
The event was part of the ongoing efforts of community outreach and partnership that the installation uses to keep neighboring municipalities informed and engaged, said Col. Lane Marshall, Fort Indiantown Gap’s garrison commander.
“We strive to be good neighbors, so we wanted to welcome these folks onto post and let them know about all the great things that are going on here,” Marshall said.
The briefing covered numerous topics, including the installation’s facilities and capabilities, the different types of training conducted here, environmental stewardship, outdoor recreation and plans to construct access control points, or gates, that will restrict access to the post’s cantonment area.
Lt. Col. Andrew O’Connor, Fort Indiantown Gap’s director of plans, operations, training and security, noted that despite restrictions due to COVID-19, the installation was the busiest National Guard Training Center in the country in 2020 for the third year in a row.
“We do everything from training helicopter pilots, all the way down to training someone how to fire a pistol,” O’Connor said.
Maj. Nathaniel Lantz, Fort Indiantown Gap’s director of public works, said construction on the gates should begin in August and they will take approximately 18 to 22 months to complete. Plans for the gates have been in the works for a number of years and have been delayed several times, he said.
“We are currently the only installation in the inventory of the United States Army that’s open – that you can drive onto without going through some sort of gate,” he said.
The gates will not affect access to Memorial Lake State Park, Indiantown Gap National Cemetery or the installation’s hunting and fishing areas, Marshall said.
Plans call for the breakfast and tour to become an annual event.