In a matter of weeks Army logisticians and engineers turned the barren land of Fort A.P. Hill into Virginia’s eighth most populated city.
The support staff of Joint Task Force – National Scout Jamboree consists of nearly 2,000 DoD service members and civilians.
During the 2010 National Scout Jamboree, the barren 76,000-acre Army Post, Fort A.P. Hill, turned into the 8th largest city in all of Virginia.
So what does it take for, a seemingly empty army installation to house and feed thousands of troops from across America for almost a month?
Good question.
Plans and programming for Camp Wilcox, our home away from home, began in February of 2009. But, the official move began in April of this year. With four months to set-up a small town, preparations moved fast. Nearly 150 staff comprised mostly of soldiers from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., headed-up early the transformation.
Then, in the final days before the Jamboree began, medical staff arrived in time to create a tent base hospital, an exact replication of the facilities used in a deployed location overseas. “Jambo General,” was transported in nine truckloads from Joint Base Langley-Eustis and was built within a four-day period.
Just to keep us all fed, five truckloads of food are imported and divided, between two dining facilities, three times a week. The shipments include 26,000 lbs. of ice to keep us cool and hydrated while the temperatures range from the low eighties into the low hundreds.
Nine buses transport the Joint Task Force-National Scout Jamboree team in and out of the Boy Scouts of America camp grounds daily.
In support of Boy Scouts of America, we have also supplied 8,000 cots, 1,000 tents, blankets, sheets and an abundance of water. Post Jamboree clean-up is not expected to be finished until the end of September.
Airman 1st Class Rachelle Elsea is reporting from the 2010 National Scout Jamboree.
Ever help organize an event of this scale? How about smaller? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
