Fort Ord

Stilwell Hall, the Fort Ord Soldiers' Club in 1992. Stilwell Hall was the largest soldiers' club constructed in the west, in 1943. Named to honor General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, it was built in Mission Revival style.

After the American entry into World War I, land was purchased just north of the city of Monterey along Monterey Bay for use as an artillery training field for the United States Army by the U.S. Department of War. The area was known as the Gigling Reservation, U.S. Field Artillery Area, Presidio of Monterey and Gigling Field Artillery Range. Although military development and construction was just beginning, the War only lasted for another year and a half until the armistice in November 11, 1918.

Despite a great demobilization of the U.S. Armed Forces during the inter-war years of the 1920s and 1930s, by 1933, the artillery field became Camp Ord, named in honor of Union Army Maj. Gen. Edward Otho Cresap Ord, (1818–1883). Primarily, horse cavalry units trained on the camp until the military began to mechanize and train mobile combat units such as tanks, armored personnel carriers and movable artillery.

By 1940, the 23-year-old Camp Ord was expanded to 2,000 acres (810 ha), with the realization that the two-year-old conflict of World War II could soon cross the Atlantic Ocean to involve America. In August 1940, it was re-designated Fort Ord and the 7th Infantry Division was reactivated, becoming the first major unit to occupy the post. Sub camp were built around the Fort to support the new training of Troop, Camp Clayton. Camp Clayton was built near CA Highway 1, the South Dakota National Guard 147th Artillery were the first unit to train at the new camp.

In 1941, Camp Ord became Fort Ord. But soon the first threat came from the west as the Imperial Japanese Navy struck the island of Oahu, Hawaii at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu in a sneak air attack, Sunday, December 7, 1941. In a few days the other Axis powers of dictators Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany, along with Fascist Italy of Benito Mussolini, declared and spread their war in Europe against Great Britain and France and the Low Countries to the U.S.

With the end of the war with the surrenders of Germany in May and Japan in September 1945, the soon onset of a Cold War against the Soviet Union continued for the next forty some years to the early 1990s. In 1947, Fort Ord became the home of the 4th Replacement Training Center. During the 1950s and 1960s, Fort Ord was a staging area for units departing for war in the Korean War and later peacetime/occupation duty in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines and Thailand. Then, when Southeast Asia became a war zone with Vietnam (and later involving, by the 1970s, Cambodia and Laos), the United States had, at one time, 50,000 troops on the installation. The 194th Armored Brigade was activated there under Combat Development Command in 1957, but departed for Fort Knox in Kentucky in 1960.

Between 1952 and 1954 the Del E. Webb Construction Company was hired to construct some 42 new permanent buildings to make Fort Ord a permanent Army post. The total cost of construction was more than $20,000,000. The first buildings completed were dormitories followed by a guard house and stockade. Additional buildings constructed as part of the plan were an administrative headquarters building, quartermaster warehouses, and an improved water storage system. There were a total of 31 dormitory buildings that could house 7,000 men.[4]

In 1957, land on the eastern side of the post was used to create the Laguna Seca Raceway which served to replace the Pebble Beach road racing course that ceased operations for safety reasons in that same year.

The post continued as a center for instruction of basic and advanced infantrymen until 1976, when the training area was deactivated and Fort Ord again became the home of the 7th Infantry Division, following their return from South Korea after twenty-five years on the DMZ ("demilitarized zone").

On July 14, 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed placement of Fort Ord on the National Priorities List (NPL). The site contained leaking underground petroleum storage tanks, a 150-acre (61 ha) landfill that was primarily used to dispose of residential waste and small amounts of commercial waste generated by the base, a former fire drill area, motor pool maintenance areas, small dump sites, small arms target ranges, an 8,000-acre (3,200 ha) firing range, and other limited areas that posed threats from unexploded ordnance. NPL status was finalized on February 21, 1990.[5]

The final basic training classes were held in 1990.

In 1991, the decision to close Fort Ord was made. The "Base Realignment and Closure" ("BRAC") legislation considering the post-Cold War era was passed by the Congress under 41st President George H. W. Bush.

In 1994, Fort Ord was officially closed. The Fort was the largest U.S. military base to be closed at the time.

The Base Realignment and Closure Commission of 1991 recommended closing the post and moving the units stationed at Fort Ord to Fort Lewis, Washington. On May 2, 1992, Army elements from Fort Ord along with Marines from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton participated in quelling the 1992 Los Angeles riots. In 1994, Fort Ord was finally closed. Most of the land was returned to the State of California for further public use and became the home of CSUMB. The remainder was given to University of California, Santa Cruz to be developed into the "UC MBEST" (Monterey Bay Education, Science and Technology) Center. The MBEST Center is a regional economic development effort focused on developing collaborative research-business opportunities in the Monterey Bay region.

The Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) is responsible for the oversight of Monterey Bay area economic recovery from the closure of and reuse planning of the former Fort Ord. The military base was located on the California coastline near the Monterey Peninsula, consisting of 28,000 acres (44 sq mi; 11,000 ha) of land. FORA implements this legislatively mandated mission by overseeing replacement land use; assuring compliance with adopted measures; removing physical barriers to reuse; financing and constructing major components of the required infrastructure and basewide demands; and protecting identified environmental reserves. FORA exercises its planning, financing, and monitoring responsibilities under state law authority to meet these objectives in the best interest of the northern Monterey Bay community.

FORA is small multi-governmental body, composed of elected officials at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as representatives from the United States Armed Forces and educational bodies such as CSUMB at the primary, secondary, and university levels.[6][7] Voting members are made up of representatives from the cities of Carmel-by-the-Sea, Del Rey Oaks, Marina, Sand City, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Salinas, and Seaside as well as two representatives from the County of Monterey[8] Ex-officio members are composed of representatives from the Monterey Peninsula Community College District, the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, California's 17th congressional district, California's 15th State Senate district, California's 27th State Assembly district, the United States Army, the Chancellor of the California State University, the President of the University of California, the Monterey County Water Resources Agency, and the Transportation Agency of Monterey County.[9]

This legislatively mandated mission is directed by FORA's 1997 Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan (Reuse Plan). In 2012, FORA performed a comprehensive Reuse Plan Reassessment to assess remaining work.[10]

Fort Ord's former military golf courses, Bayonet and Black Horse, are, as of January 16, 1997,[12] public golf courses. They have hosted PGA golf events and were recently renovated.[13]

Fort Ord Dunes State Park and National Monument

See also: Fort Ord Dunes State Park

U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar unveils the Fort Ord National Monument sign.

Fort Ord National Monument view

In 2009, a coastal strip overlooking Monterey Bay became California's newest state park, Fort Ord Dunes State Park.[16] At the end of Gigling Road, where the DOD Building is located, is one of many entrances to the Fort Ord National Monument; the land underwent comprehensive remediation that involved an extensive munitions clean-up. There are more than 83 miles (134 km) of recreational trails available. They are used by the trail communities on foot, on bicycles, and on horseback. All open trails are available to all non-motorized trail user groups. A small number of trails are fenced along their edges because of possible unexploded ordnance.

On January 13, 2012, United States Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar visited Fort Ord, addressed a crowd of 200 supporters and announced that he was proposing to President Obama that Fort Ord be elevated to National Monument status. On April 20, 2012, Barack Obama signed a Presidential Proclamation establishing Fort Ord National Monument.[17]

Fort Ord National Monument refers to that land on the former Fort Ord that is administered by the Bureau of Land Management and is open to the general public. The BLM currently manages 7,200 acres and will manage 14,650 acres after the U.S. Army finishes environmental restoration on the remaining parcel.[18]

As of May 2018, Fort Ord National Monument has extended its trail system to add bypass and spur trails to popular areas.

The nearby city of Marina is developing a large parcel of land from the former Fort Ord within its city limits, building more than 1,000 new homes. A large commercial strip mall along Highway 1 at the former 12th Street Gate entrance to Fort Ord opened in late 2007, and houses popular retail stores. The City of Marina is planning a 13-mile recreation trail to run through Fort Ord to the Fort Ord National Monument, the Salinas River, and through Fort Ord Dunes State Park.

As of December 2014, some of the land for a proposed development project (Monterey Downs) will not be officially clear of unexploded ordnance until at least late 2017.[1][19]

• Nick Bacon, (Basic Training 1963) Medal of Honor recipient for actions in the Vietnam War.
• Major General Paul W. Brier, former Commanding General of 4th Marine Division, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe, and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Africa. Born on Ft. Ord in September 1959.
• Michelle Boulos, nationally competitive figure skater.
• Grey DeLisle, voice actress.
• Joe DiMaggio, professional baseball player.
• Clint Eastwood, (swimming pool lifeguard); actor and director; later became a restaurateur and mayor in nearby Carmel.
• Herm Edwards, NFL player and coach; his father was stationed at Ford Ord.
• Jamie Farr, actor.
• Jerry Garcia, musician and co-founder of the Grateful Dead.
• Jimi Hendrix, musician; was at Fort Ord in May 1961 for basic training.
• David Janssen, actor.
• Cindy K. Jorgenson, District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona.
• James Lofton, professional football player, coach, and commentator, born at Fort Ord in 1956.
• Ollie Matson, Pro Football Hall of Fame football player, Olympic medal winner.
• Scott Melville, professional tennis player.
• Martin Milner, actor on Route 66 and Adam-12.
• Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore, author, and former commander of Fort Ord.
• Matthew Morrison, actor and singer.
• Lennie Niehaus, jazz musician, film and television composer
• Leonard Nimoy, actor, producer, singer and director.
• General Raymond T. Odierno, former battalion commander; and formerly Army Chief of Staff.
• Jaina Lee Ortiz, actor and dancer.
• Alan Osmond, singer, musician, performer and leader of The Osmonds.
• Ken Osmond, police officer, actor on Leave It to Beaver.
• Steve Owens, Heisman Trophy winner, 1969.
• Blake Percival, whistleblower.
• Wally Rank, professional basketball player.
• Ron Rivera, head coach of the NFL's Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins[22]
• Sapphire, author.
• John Saxon, actor.
• General Joseph Stilwell, World War II commander.
• Major General Charles H. Swannack, Jr., battalion commander who went on to command the 82nd Airborne Division.
• Brigadier General Huba Wass de Czege, one of the Army's leading strategists in the 1980s.

• The 1951 film The Lady Says No with David Niven was filmed at Fort Ord.
• The 1956 film The Girl He Left Behind with Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood was filmed at Fort Ord.
• The 1963 film Soldier in the Rain with Jackie Gleason and Steve McQueen was also filmed at Fort Ord.
• The 1980 film Private Benjamin featured a photo of moored yachts at Fort Ord during a recruitment scene being used as an inducement.
• The television series MythBusters frequently used the streets of an abandoned housing development in Fort Ord for testing that involves driving a car.[23]
• Fort Ord is the location of Dave Egger's 2014 novel Your Fathers, Where Are They?.

• Rancho Laguna Seca

• Ed Salven (2006), The Soldier Factory. A Fort Ord Vietnam War veteran chronicles his personal history as a soldier and reflecting upon a return visit to the fort in the late 1990s. The book includes color reproductions of paintings of soldiers that Salven found as he explored the grounds; the paintings had been rendered by students from CSUMB and suspended from barracks windows.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fort Ord.

• Bureau of Land Management: official Fort Ord National Monument website
• Army's Fort Ord Environmental Cleanup Web site
• GlobalSecurity.org
• Fort Ord, California - History & Photos
• Fort Ord Reuse Authority
• Planet Ord—comprehensive contemporary documentation of Fort Ord