Joint Base Leopold-McGarry

Joint Base Leopold-McGarry Headquarters

### Occupants

32nd Supply Wing, 506th Airlift Wing, 67th Signal Brigade, and 5028th Military HospitalSee "Army Major Units" and "506th Airlift Wing" for full list

## Airfield information

### Runway surfaces

Concrete (16/34)

**Joint Base Leopold-McGarry** (**JBLM**) is a Toinan military installation home to Army Headquarters Command, 32nd Supply Wing, 506th Airlift Wing, 67th Signal Brigade, and 5028th Military Hospital located 14.6 kilometres north-northwest of Whitelaw, Whitelaw Capital Territory under the jurisdiction of the Toinan Army Joint Base Headquarters, Joint Base Leopold-McGarry. The facility is an amalgamation of the Toinan Army's Fort Leopold and the Toinan Air Force's McGarry Air Force Base which merged on 1 January 2004 into a Joint Base as a result of the Parliament Armed Services Committee Base Realignment Order recommendation in 2001.

Joint Base Leopold-McGarry is a training and mobilisation centre for all services. Its geographic location provides rapid access to the deepwater port of Whitelaw for deploying equipment. Units can be deployed from McGarry Field, and individuals and small groups can also use nearby Whitelaw International Airport. The strategic location of the base provides Air Force units with the ability to conduct humanitarian airlift with the C-17 Globemaster III.

## Fort Leopold

Fort Leopold is a Toinan Army base located 14.6 kilometres north-northwest of Whitelaw, Whitelaw Capital Territory. Fort Leopold was merged with McGarry Air Force Base on 1 January 2004 to form Joint Base Leopold-McGarry.

Fort Leopold, named after Leopold Williams, a prominent Councillor in the area at the time of the base's creation, is one of the largest and most modern military reservations in Toin, consisting of 350km2 of forested and prairie land cut from the glacier-flattened Grey Wolf Plain. It is the premier military installation in the southwest and is the most requested duty station in the army.

Joint Base Leopold-McGarry (Fort Leopold) is a major Army installation, with much of the 1st Infantry Division in residence, along with Headquarters, 3rd Infantry Division; 67th Signal Brigade; and 3rd Special Forces Group. However, the Headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Division is primarily a garrison management body.

## Fort Leopold Major Units

The Toinan Army's Headquarters Command commands most Army units at Joint Base Leopold-McGarry, and conducts planning and liaison with other assigned active and Reserve units in Toin. It is one of the active Army's contingency corps. Army Headquarters Command stays prepared to deploy on short notice worldwide to command up to five divisions or a joint task force.

In 1981, Army Headquarters Command was activated after the Administrative Corps was disbanded. On 31 August 2000, General Daniel vanDunn, Chief of Staff of the Toinan Army, announced the Army Headquarters Command would lead the acceleration of Army transformation, training and the initial creation of the first two Military Hospitals in the army after the disbanding of the last Mobile Surgical Hospital in 1997. Since 11 September 2001, Fort Leopold assets have been assisting United States Army units in providing support for the global War on Terror, having taken part in Operation Enduring Freedom and the Iraq war.

On 1 March 2006, Task Force Whitelaw was activated as a sub-element of the Army Headquarters Command in order to command deployed Army units in Iraq. This marked the first time that the Army Headquarters Command had soldiers deployed in combat since their activation. Task Force Whitelaw includes units from all three components of the Army (Active, Reserve, and National Guard) as well as British and Canadian officers. Task Force Whitelaw's subordinate units included the 3rd Infantry Division 1st Brigade Combat Team which deployed for Iraq on 1 June 2006 and returned to Fort Leopold after one year of active combat duty, and the 3rd Infantry Division 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which also deployed for Iraq on 15 June 2007 and returned after in June 2008 after one year of active combat duty. On 16 September 2009, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team cased its colours and was deactivated for budget reasons. After two years and six months, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team was reactivated and uncased its colours.

Subordinate units assigned to Fort Leopold are:

* Army Headquarters Command
	+ 1st Brigade Combat Team
	+ 2nd Brigade Combat Team
	+ 33rd Field Artillery Brigade
	+ 63rd Combat Aviation Brigade
	+ 4th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade
	+ 57th Combat Engineers Brigade
* 32nd Supply Wing
	+ 54th Medical Supply Brigade
	+ 2nd Combat Cargo Brigade
	+ 61st Materiel Brigade
* 67th Signal Brigade
	+ Armed Services Public Affairs Network
* 5028th Military Hospital
* 6321st Military Veterinary Hospital
* Officer Candidate College

## McGarry Air Force Base

The McGarry Air Force Base (AFB) is a Toinan Air Force controlled base in southwest Toin in Lyman District, Whitelaw Capital Territory. North of Whitelaw, McGarry AFB is the home of the 506th Airlift Wing, Air Mobility Command, the airbase's primary mission being worldwide strategic airlift.

The facility was consolidated with the Army's Fort Leopold on 1 January 2004 to become part of the Joint Base Leopold-McGarry complex. This initiative was driven by the Parliament Armed Services Committee Base Realignment Order in 2001 and is designed to combine current infrastructure into one maximizing war fighting capability and efficiency, while saving taxpayer pounds.

## 506th Airlift Wing

The 506th Airlift Wing (506 AW) is the host unit at McGarry AFB. It is assigned to the First Air Force and is composed of more than 8,000 active duty military and civilian personnel. It is tasked with supporting worldwide combat and humanitarian airlift contingencies. Aircraft of the 506th fly around the globe, conducting airdrop training.

### Components

The 506th Operations Group flies the C-17 Globemaster III transport from McGarry Field. It consists of three airlift squadrons and an Operations Support Squadron.

* 506th Airlift Wing
	+ 31st Airlift Squadron
	+ 76th Airlift Squadron
	+ 40th Airlift Squadron
	+ 506th Operations Support Squadron
	+ 506th Maintenance Group
	+ 530th Air Base Group
	+ 506th Medical Squadron
	+ 506th Comptroller Squadron

Other major units stationed at McGarry Field are:

* Air Force Special Operations Command
	+ 58th Special Tactics Squadron
* Air Force Reserve Command
	+ 62nd Airlift Wing
		- 62nd Operations Group
		- 32nd Airlift Squadron
		- 79th Airlift Squadron
		- 62nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
* Air National Guard
	+ Whitelaw Capital Territory Air National Guard

## History

### Fort Leopold

*Main Article: Fort Leopold*

In 1920, a group of local civilian businessmen seeking the creation of a military base in the Grey Wolf Plain area and a military survey team approved a military post to be constructed. Businessmen and Whitelaw Capital Territory voters approved a donation of the land near Grey Wolf River to the federal government. The base (then known as Camp Leopold) would serve as a vital training base for Toinan soldiers during World War II. This base would be known as one of the most well managed and cheaply funded bases ever constructed. Additional construction of the camp would officially commemorate a renaming of Camp Leopold to Fort Leopold in 1929.

The construction of the base also included the seizure of Grey Wolf tribe reservation lands for their use as an artillery field and, later, a bombing range. Legal seizure of the lands occurred through eminent domain and seizure, which resulted in tribal members being forced from their homes. As a result, tribal members sued the federal government, but lost the case. Today, part of the Grey Wolf reservation still remains under Fort Leopold control, but most of it was given back as an official apology.

Units trained at Ford Leopold would serve with distinction in both the Pacific and European theaters during World War II. Prisoner of war compounds were constructed to house German and Italian POWs until the end of the war. Fort Leopold also participated in major operations in the modern-day, including assisting the United States and NATO with Operation Desert Storm.

### McGarry Air Force Base

*Main Article: McGarry Field*

McGarry Air Force Base was originally named Grey Wolf Field in 1930 when a local voting measure authorized the creation of a municipal airport. The airport would be purchased by the federal government in 1936 and renamed McGarry Field in honour of Captain James McGarry, who had died in an aircraft accident nearby. The early work and construction of the base prior to the start of World War II resulted in McGarry Field being able to serve as a critical piece of defence infrastructure during the war, training bomber pilots who would participate in the allied invasions of Italy and southern France. McGarry Field became McGarry Air Force Base in 1946 after serving with incredible distinction during World War II.

Since the end of World War II, McGarry Air Force Base served as a strategic and humanitarian airlift, participating in humanitarian and strategic tactical airlifts throughout the country and around the world, and helped airlift humanitarian supplies after Hurricane Katrina, transported American and Toinan troops during Operation Desert Storm and the Iraq War, and military interception in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks when politicians and military leaders feared an additional or related attack might occur on Toinan soil, one of the very few instances that any sort of combat operation occurred domestically.

McGarry Air Force Base and Fort Leopold officially joined to form Joint Base Leopold-McGarry in 2004 after the Base Realignment Order recommendations in 2001.

## Geography and environment

The large protected lands available to military reservations makes environmental protection significantly important worldwide. Both Fort Leopold and McGarry AIr Force Base lands have been used as areas to conduct significant environmental studies. The use of military equipment on the base reservation contains the potential to damage environmental habitats. Toinan military facilities have implemented and continue to implement practices that include environmental preservation and protections, becoming mandatory in 1992.

## Joint Base Headquarters

The Joint Base Headquarters (JBHQ) operates the installation to support the warfighting units, their families and the extended military community. The mission of the JBHQ is to provide support to mission commanders and the joint base community, to serve as an enabler to the soldiers as they train and project Toin's combat power, and to make JBLM the station of choice for Toinan soldiers and their families.

With an Army joint base commander and an Air Force deputy joint base commander, the JBHQ supports the installation through directorates that provide a full range of city services and quality-of-life functions; everything from facility maintenance recreation and family programs to training support and emergency services.

The major organizations that make up the bulk of the JBHQ include:

* Joint Base Public Works and Services
* Joint Base Family Welfare Services
* Joint Base Recreation Services
* Joint Base Human Resources
* Joint Base Leopold-McGarry Fire Department
* Joint Base Plans, Training, and Mobilization

Additional staff officers that support the installation mission include the Joint Base Leopold-McGarry Public Affairs Office, the Religiosu Support Office, the Resource Management Office, the Joint Base Safety Office and the Plans, Analysis and Integration Office. Other partners who work closely with the JBHQ include the Civilian Personnel Advisory Centre, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command and Joint Personal Property Shipping Office.

Two military units support the JBHQ

* 1st Air Base Group Provides command and control and administrative oversight to the Aircraftmen who perform installation support duties on behalf of the Joint Base Commander.
* Headquarters and Headquarters Company, JBLM Provides administrative oversight to the Army personnel in the JBHQ and supports newly arrived soldiers during their in-processing period.

JBLM Service Members receive medical care through on-base facilities such as the Chief Siahl Army Medical Centre, the Grey Wolf Clinic, and the McGarry Clinic.

### JBLM overview

JBLM has two Senior Service Component Commanders, one Army (Commander, Army Headquarters Command) and one Air Force (Commander, 506th Airlift Wing) and has more than 52,000 service members and civilian workers. The post supports over 100,000 military retirees and more than 32,000 family members living both on and off post. The base has a total active population of nearly 184,000 inhabitants, making it one of the largest military installations worldwide by total population. JBLM consists of four geographical areas: Leopold Main, Leopold South, McGarry Field, and Grey Wolf Training Centre. Leopold Main, Leopold North, and McGarry Field cover over 35,000 hectares, while Grey Wolf Training Center covers 131,000 hectares.

JBLM Lepold Main, Leopold North, and McGarry Field have abundant high-quality, close-in training areas, including over 106 live-fire ranges. Additional training space is available at the Grey Wolf Training Centre in eastern Whitelaw Capital Territory, near Mt. Prosperity National Park including maneuver areas and additional live-fire ranges.

In 2013, the former Fort Leopold Military Correctional Facility was remodeled. The facility houses most minimum and medium security prisoners from all branches of the Toinan Armed Services.

JBLM Leopold North hosted the Leadership Development Examination, a capstone program for the Officer Candidate College, until it was relocated to Fort Prominence in 2017.