Evening star., 1937-01-03
CAMP SITES GIVEN
WAR BUREAU 0. K.
121st Regiment Of Engineers
to Train at Camp Albert
c. Ritchie.

various units Of the National Guard Of
the District Of Columbia. as recon-
mended by the local Guard officials
for the 121st Regiment Of Engineers
and Company A, 372d Infantry, the
latter the colored unit Of the District
outfit. have been approved by the Ma
tional Guard Bureau Of the War De-
partment. 1t was announced at local
Militia headquarters last week.
While the bureau also gave its ap-
proval to the 29th Division Headquar-
tiers having. its camp in Virginia, it
nevertheless tentatively disapproved
the recommendation that the 260th
Regiment Of Coast Artillery undertake
q thousand route march next
Summer and suggested that it should
have its training camp again at Fort
Monroe, Va.
The War Department Bureau has
authorized the Engineer regiment and
the Infantry company to 60 to Camp
Albert c. Ritchie, at Cascade, Md,
where the State camp Of the Maryland
National Guard is located. The local
Militia has held several Of its training
periods there since the camp was es-
tablished and 1t has proved popular
both to officers and men, because Of
the fact that there are located nearby
number of mountain Summer resorts
where the personnel can find recrea-
tion when of duty. At the same time
the camp has been so developed that
men do not have to leave the reserva-
ton for diversion. as there Is an arti-
f1cial lake where swimming and boat
ing are permitted for both officers and
men. There Is q club house and the
mess halls and other buildings are of
permanent construction. Service util-
tiles have been built into the camp.
There Is rifle range at hand and the
terrain furnishes ideal conditions for
maneuvers, the site being in the gen.
eral vicinity Of the scene of last years
divisional activities.
The local division headquarters,
headed by Mai. Gen. Milton A. Reck-
ord of Maryland, had recommended
that it hold its camp in Virginia, pref
erably in the vicinity of Fredericks-
burg, where the officers could work
over the old Civil War campaign maps
and reports as part Of their training.
They did not recommend base camp.
but suggested that the camp might be
moved periodically as the student Of
ficers developed their campaign plans
The National Guard Bureaus approval
Of the program did not fix any par
ticular site. but said that it might be
held somewhere in Virginia. OF
course, when the estimates are made
there will have to be a larger amount
OF funds for frequent moving of camp
than If it is held in some fixed place.
OF course, it was explained that the
camp might be established in some
base in the interior of the area In
which 1t Is proposed to operate for
the two-week period, and the officers
could work out from the camp each
day. returning in the evening to study
their maps for the Eext days opera
tions. or establish bivouac camps for
the night.
In the case of the 260th Coast Ar
tillery, it was said at the local brigade
headquarters. the War Department
Bureau was Of the opinion that the
outfit might get more out of its train
ing this year by going to Fort Monroe,
where 1t would have the use of the
modern equipment provided there for
the Regular Army. The equipment
now in the possession Of the local Ar
tillery is more or less antiquated, but
1t Is the hope that Congress will pro-
vide funds at the coming session for
bringing the Militia artillery equip
ment up to date. 1t is probable that
in reaching its decision the War De-
partment Bureau had in mind the an
tiquated motor equipment OF the local
Militia and did not care to take the
responsibility of sending it on thou
sand-mile road march to New York.
1t was pointed out that the local arril-
ierymen had a long road march
through Virginia and MARYLAND in
1885 and that this training should not
be held every other year.