Mountain Warfare Training Center


The Mountain Warfare Training Center is a United States Marine Corps installation located in Pickel Meadows on California State Route 108 at above sea level in the Toiyabe National Forest, northwest of Bridgeport, California. The training center exists to train units in complex compartmented terrain.

Mission

The Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center, as a major subordinate element of Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, and with support from Marine Corps Installations West, conducts unit and individual training courses to prepare USMC, Joint, and Allied Forces for operations in mountainous, high altitude, and cold weather environments in support of the Regional Combatant Commanders. Additionally, MWTC provides support to Marine Corps Combat Development Command ; Training and Education Command; Marine Corps Systems Command; and other USMC and Department of Defense agencies engaged in the development of warfighting doctrine and specialized equipment for use in mountain and cold weather operations.

History

The Mountain Warfare Training Center is one of the Corps' most remote and isolated posts. The Center was established in 1951 as the Cold Weather Battalion with a mission of providing cold-weather training for replacement personnel bound for Korea. After the Korean War, in 1963, the school was renamed the "Mountain Warfare Training Center" due to its expanded role. During the 1980s, the Training Center's focus was on training and preparing Marines and operational units for deployments on NATO's Northern flank, particularly Norway. Recently, with the Global War on Terrorism, the MWTC provided pre-deployment training in support of Operation Enduring Freedom—the war in Afghanistan.

Operating areas

MWTC is located in Pickel Meadows of the Sierra Nevada mountains south of Lake Tahoe on of mountainous terrain with elevations from – 11,000 ft. Other areas utilized by MWTC: Sweetwater Airstrip, Mt Shasta, the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Hawthorne Army Depot for live fire exercises.

MWTC Installation Capabilities

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Formal Courses / Training Programs Offered

Most courses require a first class Physical Fitness Test, typically conducted on Training Day 1.

Pre-Deployment Training Programs (PTP)

Basic MWI