×

Camp Ravenna gets new name

Honors former US president James Garfield

Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple Major General John C. Harris, assistant adjutant general for the Ohio National Guard, center, and other invited guests stand behind the newly unveiled Camp James A. Garfield sign Thursday after its unveiling. The site, formerly known as Camp Ravenna, is located in both Trumbull and Portage counties and will be used for military, law enforcement and first-responder training.

PARIS TOWNSHIP — Looking toward the future while honoring the past, the former Camp Ravenna on Thursday was renamed the James A. Garfield Military Training Facility during a ceremony featuring at least one member of the former president’s family.

With the renaming, the Ohio National Guard’s goal is to make the 21,600-acre facility into the premier military, law enforcement and first-responder training facility not only in this area, but also in the multi-state region.

“We will never forget the history and the work of people that came before us,” said Maj. General John C. Harris, assistant adjutant general for the Ohio National Guard.

The facility, formerly known as the Ravenna Arsenal, was first purchased in 1939 and had a vital role during every war and conflict from World War II through Korea and Vietnam. Portions of it are located in Trumbull and Portage counties.

When the Ohio National Guard began taking over Camp Ravenna in the early 1990s, a commitment was made to cleaning up the former ammunition-making and testing facility so it could be made a vital cog in military training, Harris noted.

“For 17 years, our military has been focusing on counter-insurgencies, which has been extremely beneficial to the National Guard,” Harris said. “We’ve become full partners with the active duty Army.”

“We are part of the Army’s operational strategy force,” he said. “It has been good for equipping the National Guard, allowing us to obtain brand new equipment, just like our active duty counterparts.”

The transformation of the James A. Garfield Military Training Facility coincides with the U.S. military’s new focus on large-scale combat operations, Harris said.

“In the future, large-scale combat operations will focus on cyber, space and subterranean,” he said. “We are shedding the old brand of the Ravenna Arsenal.”

“The beauty of this is we will attract partner agencies,” Harris said. “When we build structural collapsing buildings, our partners in law enforcement and first responders will be able to use them for their training.

“We will be using state-of-the-art simulators to optimize our training on warrior skills, as well as hone our ability to respond to domestic disasters when our citizens need us,” Harris said. “These facilities will improve the proficiency of people without using excess fuel, ammunition and other live equipment.”

Camp Ravenna was renamed to honor President James A. Garfield, who was the 20th president of the United States and a major general in the U.S. Army.

Garfield was commissioned in 1861 during the Civil War. He was serving in the Ohio Senate when he helped appropriate funds to build the Ohio volunteer forces, which would later become the Ohio National Guard.

Within two years after joining the military, Garfield rose to the rank of major general. Later he was elected and served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected president in 1880.

Victor Harris, 58, a distant cousin of the former president, who lives in Solon, said the family is honored that the base has been renamed in his honor.

“James Garfield was an educator by trade, so it is fitting that this base is used for training,” Harris said.

Herm Breuer, director of Trumbull County Veteran Services and a former National Guardsman, said it is good to have someplace close to home for members of the various branches of the reserves and National Guard to train.

“We will be bringing people from other states into the area,” Breuer said. “This is a great asset.”

The camp can be the training site for 3,000 people at a time. Construction on the entire project is expected to be complete in 2022.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
     

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.85/week.

Subscribe Today