Pohakuloa Training Area

History
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1. User Agreement:

Welcome to the Pohakuloa Training Area’s official page, a place to learn more about the training base, stay up-to-date on current events, and to be part of our larger community here on Hawaii Island. If you're looking for more information about Pohakuloa Training Area, visit our website a

t https://home.army.mil/pohakuloa/index.php . You can find information on our website about directions, phone numbers, base description, services and more. Any questions, please call PTA Public Affairs at 808-787-7839. If you are looking for information on joining the , visit www.goarmy.com. Openings at PTA for the general public, will also be advertised on this page as they become available. If you have a question about PTA, email us at [email protected]

This is not a forum to meet people; users who post comments asking for likes, friends or asking others to add them will have their posts deleted and may be banned from the page. While this is an open forum, it's also a family friendly one, so please keep your comments and timeline posts clean. In addition to keeping it family friendly, we ask that you follow our posting guidelines here. If you don't comply, your comment will be removed, and repeat offenders may be banned at any time.

-We do not allow graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or submissions nor do we allow derogatory comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone or any organization.

-We do not allow solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency.

-We do not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity, harm or disruption to military training or post activities, or comments potentially risking the life, health or safety of any personnel or party working on the installation or for the Army.

-We do not allow comments that are completely off-topic to the original post, or which are derogatory and inflammatory in nature. This page is not a platform to further a specific agenda or cause.

-Due to the Hatch Act and associated laws, we do not allow posts promoting or advocating for political candidates or causes.

-You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided. The appearance of external links on this page does not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the U.S. Army or Department of Defense. For more information visit the DoD Social Media user agreement at: https://dodcio.defense.gov/Social-Media/Terms-of-Service-Agreements/ .

2. History:

Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) was first used during World War II as a Marine Corps artillery live-fire training area. Marines from the 2nd Marine Division and the 5th Marine Division trained at PTA and on the western side of the Big Island in preparation for the Iwo Jima and Saipan campaigns. During World War II, few permanent structures existed; when the Marines trained at PTA, they slept in tents. After the war, PTA fell under the control of the Hawaii Territorial Guard, and in the mid-1950s, the Army took over PTA. From 1955-58, Soldiers from the 65th Engineer Company built the distinctive Quonset huts, which are still in use. PTA's 133,000 acres include an 80-acre cantonment area with a fuel yard, fire and police departments and an airfield with a 3,700-foot runway. The cantonment area also provides units with task-force headquarters, dining facilities, a troop medical clinic, a theater and the only Quonset-hut chapel in the Army. PTA's firing ranges allow units to conduct small-arms and crew-served weapons familiarization training and qualifications, as well as artillery and mortar live fire. Through the years, PTA’s ranges and training areas have helped Army, Marine, Air Force and Navy units maintain their combat readiness and prepare for war. In addition to being a prime training area for military forces in the Pacific region, PTA is a vanguard of environmental and cultural protection. PTA Natural and Cultural Resources staff are dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered and threatened plants and safeguarding cultural resources at PTA.