Fort Hunter Liggett

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from U.S. Army Reserve Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County for a conversation with Commander Colonel Charles Bell.

Bell shares recollections of his accomplishments and challenges at Fort Hunter Liggett as Garrison Commander for the past 24 months. He also shares insights about his new assignment in Salt Lake City, Utah as Chief of Staff for the 76th Operational Response Command.

U.S. Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett in southern Monterey County is on target to reach their goal of Net-Zero energy resiliency to critical facilities by 2022 via a new micro-grid.

Hunter Liggett is slated to become the first U.S. Army installation in America capable of generating and distributing electricity off-grid for a minimum of 14 days across the entire cantonment.

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer as he visits with Fort Hunter Liggett Garrison Commander, Colonel Charles Bell; Nicole Bulgarino, executive vice-president for Federal Solutions at Ameresco, the project design-build firm that specializes in clean energy technologies; followed by a conversation with Colonel James Handura, Commander and District Engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District.

Join Major Christopher Lauff, Commander, USAG HHC at Fort Hunter Liggett as he shares details about the May 15 open house.

An array of activities for the public include a WWII C-47 fly-in along with an Coast Guard helicopter, and a hands-on chance for kids and adults to fire rifles and machine guns in the virtual reality lab.

Joe Ping, Senior Training Instructor shares insights about how military training has evolved through virtual reality. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at U.S. Army Reserve base Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County to learn the rest of the story. 

In honor of Fort Hunter Liggett’s 80th anniversary we repost correspondent Tom Wilmer's conversation with Brian Neumann, Ph.D., a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington D.C.

Newmann talks about lieutenant General Hunter Liggett, who was second-in-command of the U.S. Army’s World War 1 American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Liggett was a visionary tactician who transformed field tactics through combined-arms that remain employed by the U.S. Army today.   

William Randolph Heart’s old ranch headquarters was constructed in 1930. Hearst and architect Julia Morgan’s classic, Moorish/Mission Revival structure, dubbed the Hacienda or Milpitas Ranch House, was sold to the U.S. Army in 1940.

The Hacienda initially served as operations headquarters for Fort Hunter Liggett until the base facilities were constructed in the dawning days of WWII.

Today the Hacienda remains as a treasured historic icon on Army base tucked in a remote valley in the Santa Lucia Mountains in southern Monterey County adjacent to Mission San Antonio.

Come along and join correspondent Tom Wilmer and Lisa Cipolla, historian and Cultural Resources Program Manager at Army Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett for a tour of the Hacienda and tales from the past.

Hearst and his friends such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Marian Davies, Will Rogers, and Errol Flynn would come to party at the Hacienda. Today you can book an overnight stay in one of the historic rooms where the ranch hands bunked or maybe choose a romantic getaway in Marian Davies old upstairs suite.

This show was originally broadcast April 26, 2018 and is reshared as a "Best-of-the-best" broadcast from the archives of Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer's 31st anniversary of producing on-air travel shows at NPR affiliate KCBX and podcasts.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Abe Marquez, president of the Foundation at Hearst Castle. Marquez shares insights about the foundation’s ongoing educational programs that inspire and empower young students from underserved communities via hands on STEAM programs. Marquez met with Wilmer at the historic Hacienda, designed to serve as William Randolph Hearst’s ranch headquarters by legendary architect Julia Morgan.

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at U.S. Army Reserve base Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County for a conversation with the crew of Mercy Air medevac operations. We’ll also check in with San Luis Obispo County's "Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children program"... known as CASA. Finally, we'll take a look back at the origin of downtown San Luis Obispo's Farmer's Market, and look ahead to see what we can expect upon its reopening.

Mercy Air's primary mission is to support U.S. Army Reserve operations at Fort Hunter Liggett but they also respond to civilian casualties in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties. Mercy Air maintains a 24-hour presence for medevac service at Fort Hunter Liggett, with four crews and two helicopters.

The day-to-day job of law enforcement officers goes largely unappreciated and unnoticed. I recently met and became friends with a Texas State Trooper and his wife while they were on vacation. I asked if he might talk from the heart about his seventeen-year journey as a peace officer stationed in the North Texas Panhandle region.

In honor of Veterans Day, correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County. Garrison Commander Charles Bell and Garrison HHC 1SG Clinton Unger share their passions and insights for the United States Army Reserve’s active duty soldiers, spouses and veterans. Colonel Bell also explains the status of COVID-19 preventative measures at Hunter Liggett.

Garrison commander Colonel Robert Horvath talks with correspondent Tom Wilmer about modified training and adjustments to daily life due to social distancing at California National Guard base Camp Roberts.

Fort Hunter Liggett, in southern Monterey County, is America’s largest US Army Reserve training installation. It is also a remote community with specific actions being taken during the ongoing COVID 19 crisis. Associate Producer Carol Tangeman visits with Colonel Charles Bell, commander at Fort Hunter Liggett. 

KCBX's Greta Mart has a conversation with Mindbody CEO Rick Stollmeyer about that company's decision to layoff or furlough a third of its employees. We hear from Col. Charles Bell, commander of Fort Hunter Liggett, about how the rural base community is trying to protect itself from an outbreak of COVID-19. From our colleagues in the Central Valley, we get a feel for what it's like to work in a Fresno emergency room during the pandemic. Finally, KCBX correspondent Brian Reynolds has a conversation with first-time novelist Jessica Winters Mireles.

Fort Hunter Liggett, located in Monterey County, is the largest and one of the most remote U.S. Army Reserve training bases in America. Come along and join correspondent Tom Wilmer as he explores how the base provides for the moral, welfare and recreation needs of the soldiers and civilian employees, as well as the civilian residents of nearby farming communities. Wilmer visits with Brian Lee.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Monterey County's Fort Hunter Liggett, America’s largest Army Reserve training base. A ribbon-cutting ceremony signaling the opening of a multi-million dollar high-tech training school has just concluded. Come along and join the conversation with Fort Hunter Liggett Garrison Commander Colonel Charles Bell Jr.; Major General Bruce Hackett, Commanding General, 80th Training Command; and Brigadier General Matthew Baker, Commanding General, 102nd Training Division.

On this week's Issues & Ideas: A unique spacecraft is now orbiting the earth and soon a team at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo will command it to unfurl a super-thin Mylar sail. The craft will then glide through space, propelled only by sunlight. We talk to the mission's project manager to learn more. Also, there was a recent change of command ceremony at Army Reserve Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County. We hear from both the outgoing and incoming commanders.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer attended the change of command ceremony at Army Reserve Garrison Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County on June 25, 2019. Wilmer talks with outgoing commander Colonel Kerry Norman and incoming commander Colonel Charles Bell.

Even though Mary Beth Breen Collins was a pacifist, her curiosity about the war spurred her to sign up for an 18-month stint as associate director of the USO Club in Di An, Vietnam, where she served from January 1969 to June 1970.

In our final installment about life on base at U.S. Army Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with troops assigned to full-time duty at the fort.

Federal firefighters based at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County are trained to respond to a wide array of emergencies, including range, forest and structure fires, medical emergencies, aircraft incidents and mutual aid response to the surrounding region in Lockwood Valley. Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with firefighters Greg Fryer and Jason Hall.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Brian Neumann, Ph.D., a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington D.C. Newmann talks about General Hunter Liggett, who was second-in-command of the Army’s World War 1 American Expeditionary Forces in Europe. Liggett was a visionary tactician who transformed field tactics that remain employed today.   

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Monterey County's Fort Hunter Liggett, where he visits with Augusta Vargas, wife of Sergeant Garcia. Vargas talks about the rewarding aspects of life as an Army spouse and raising a family on a remote base.  

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, where he visits with Deputy Commander Lt. Colonel Jason McKenzie.

The United States Army’s Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County is larger than all of the other Army Reserve’s training installations combined, and the U.S. Army’s seventh largest training facility in geographic area.

Recently, correspondent Tom Wilmer covered a combat training exercise at an Army base in Monterey County. In this segment, Wilmer visits with Brigadier General Shane Buzza, commander of the 91st Training Division at Fort Hunter Liggett, followed by insights from two of the troops.

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer as he embeds with Army Reserve troops during a training exercise at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County. Wilmer observes and visits with soldiers during training operations to clear a minefield, remove an anti-tank ditch and build a bridge, with Stryker combat vehicles providing cover.   

William Randolph Heart’s old ranch headquarters was constructed in 1930.

Located a mere 11 miles as the crow flies from Hearst Castle. Hearst and architect Julia Morgan’s classic, Moorish/Mission Revival structure, dubbed the Hacienda or Milpitas Ranch House, was sold to the U.S. Army in 1940.

The Hacienda initially served as operations headquarters for Fort Hunter Liggett until the base facilities were constructed in the dawning days of WWII.

A mere taste of Colonel Norman’s diverse background with the U.S. Army includes service as Operations Officer 82nd Airborne, Provost Marshall Military Reserve Command, and the Military Intelligence Readiness Command. She also served as Professor of Military Science at Seattle University.