NAMING NATIONAL GUARD CAMPS

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January 28, 2011		2011-R-0065
NAMING NATIONAL GUARD CAMPS

By: Joseph Holstead, Associate Analyst

You asked what naming convention states surrounding Connecticut use for National Guard camp sites.

In the other five New England states and New York, National Guard camp sites are generally named after military service members and governors. Connecticut and New Hampshire both have one camp named for the location (see Table 1 below).

TABLE 1: NAMES OF NATIONAL GUARD CAMP TRAINING FACILITIES

*State*	*National Guard Camp/Training Facility Name*
Connecticut	Camp Niantic* - named for location
Connecticut	Camp Hartell - named for Medal of Honor recipient 1st Lt. Lee R. Hartell (Korea)
Maine	Camp Keyes - named for Civil War Commander, Maj. Gen. Erasmus Darwin Keyes
Massachusetts	Camp Edwards - named for Maj. Gen. Clarence Edwards
Massachusetts	Camp Guild - named for former service member and governor, Brig. Gen. Curtis Guild
New Hampshire	Center Strafford Training Site - named for location, Strafford, NH
New York	Camp Smith Training Site - named for Governor Alfred E. Smith
Rhode Island	Camp Varnum - named for General James Mitchell Varnum
Vermont	Camp Johnson (1945) - named for Adjudant General Herbert Thomas Johnson

*In 2010, Connecticut's legislature voted to permanently name the Niantic-located National Guard training site, which for decades had been named for sitting governors, “Camp Niantic” (PA 10-69).

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