Camp Williams Camp W . G . Williams , commonly known as Camp Williams , also known as Army Garrison Camp Williams , is a National Guard training site operated by the Utah National Guard . It is located south of Bluffdale , west of Lehi , and north of Saratoga Springs and Cedar Fort , approximately south of Salt Lake City , straddling the border between Salt Lake County and Utah County in the western portion of the Traverse Mountains . Camp Williams is also home to the National Guard Basic Non Commissioned Officer Course Phase 1 ( BNCOC ) which is 2 weeks in duration . Camp Williams land comprises about of flat area and of mountainous region . History . The Utah Army National Guard traces its beginnings to the Utah Territorial Militia , known as the Nauvoo Legion . The Nauvoo Legion operated similarly to militias in other states and territories , including requiring adult men — between the ages of 18 and 45 — to serve . The militia served as guardians of the Central Overland Route , and in the Utah War , Black Hawk War and Walker War . During this period the legion ' s various units had annual musters and training camps , with Lehi ' s unit often doing so near the site of today ' s Camp Williams . During a power struggle between the Federal government of the United States and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - day Saints , the militia was abolished in the Edmunds – Tucker Act of 1887 . By March 1894 conflicts had settled down , and the Utah Territorial Legislature authorized Caleb Walton West , the Governor , to establish The National Guard of Utah . Twenty years later , in 1914 and 1915 , US president Woodrow Wilson , set aside 18 , 700 acres to provide permanent training grounds for the guard . This was the first official designation of land that would comprise Camp Williams . This original land makes up the western majority of the current site , which is rough and rugged , and lacked flat land for a cantonment area ( headquarters and camp ) . So the State of Utah rented nearby flatter land , and then later purchased it to build a cantonment area . Permanent use of the area , including buildings , was not established at this time , due to World War I , and the site was just occasionally used until the 1920s . In both 1926 and 1927 the guard ' s annual encampment was held at the site , and in 1928 the camp was officially established for permanent use as Camp W . G . Williams . It was named after Brigadier General W . G . Williams in recognition of his war participation since the Spanish – American War and his work in establishing the site as a permanent training location . Machine Gun Fire . On 19 September 2010 , live fire . 50 - caliber machine gun training at the camp sparked the " Machine Gun Fire " that resulted in over 3 , 500 acres burned and the loss of three homes in the city of Herriman to the north . Utah Data Center . From 2011 to 2013 , the National Security Agency ( NSA ) built a $ 1 . 5 billion " Community Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative Data Center " at Camp Williams , the first in a series of data centers required for the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative . The 1 . 5 million square foot facility built on 200 acres is expected to store 1 yottabyte of data by 2015 . The facility which is expected to be completed in October 2013 will use 65 megawatts and will cost another $ 2 billion for hardware , software , and maintenance . Camp Williams ' former airfield , located on the West side of Highway 68 , has been removed . Instead , the area that formerly held the airfield will now hold the National Security Agency ' s new data processing center , Utah Data Center . This facility will greatly increase the NSA ' s ability to store and process millions of emails , IMs , SMS , and phone calls made daily by people around the world and in the United States .