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 6800 ft above sea level in the Toiyabe National Forest, 21miles northwest of Bridgeport, California. The training center exists to train units in complex compartmented terrain.MissionThe 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 (MCCDC); Training and Education Command; Marine Corps Systems Command; and other USMC and Department of Defense (DOD) agencies engaged in the development of warfighting doctrine and specialized equipment for use in mountain and cold weather operations.HistoryThe 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.