The Ord Lives On

Fort Ord can be visited today for numerous reasons; bicycle trails, equestrian riding, guided tours, military community, or to visit the endangered species, Smith’s Blue Butterfly. Despite all of this activity there is still a misconception among many community members that Fort Ord is an “abandoned” military base.

Presidio of Monterey Annex is the official title to the parts of Fort Ord that are still under military control. This area contains the Ord military community, California National Guard posts, and the gunnery ranges. The military presence that continues to be linked with Fort Ord include, California Army National Guard Units, Commissary catering to the active duty individuals who are stationed in the Monterey area as well as retirees from active duty who choose to settle in the area and are able to shop at these facilities, and lastly Naval Post Graduate School members who are housed on the base. Despite these military correlations, strong military activity is a thing of the past at Fort Ord.

“Basically all military activity is ceased at Fort Ord. There are several acres of land that remain closed that are former Army range land. That is, the land was used for target practice and must go through a complete clean-up of unexploded ordinance before it can be opened,” says Jim Ryan BETA webmaster at Fort Ord.

Fort Ord has been said to be among the most attractive of U.S. Army posts because of its close location to the beach, and coveted California weather. To the contrary of the pleasing aesthetics that Fort Ord offers is the fact that the base has been deemed highly contaminated citing problems such as lead from bullets, unexploded ordinance (explosive weapons that did not explode and still pose a risk for detonation), and unlined landfills leaking the chemical carbon tetrachloride into groundwater. Though there has been extensive effort into the cleanup of this area, it still poses a risk because 96 percent of the area was not cleaned up according to the Post-Remediation Health and Ecological Risk Assessments, 2007.

The purpose of the base currently is three fold says Justin Welner of University Advancement. “Economic development, education, and environmental aspects,” are the focus of Fort Ord’s reuse authority. The reuse authority takes on the responsibility of planning, financing, and implementing new aspects to the conversion and re-development of Fort Ord. The authority plans to keep two thirds of the base as a habitat for endangered species and the remaining parts will be utilized for commercial development, supportive housing, visiting service facilities, and other relevant activities.

The Fort Ord Alumni Association is currently in the process of planning the building of a museum that will be located just off of Lightfighter Drive, very near to CSUMB campus. The museum will create a resource for students and community members to revisit Fort Ord.

Labor Day weekend in September of 2012 marks an important day for Fort Ord. Craig Coomer, webmaster, is planning a Veteran’s Reunion on the base.

“We have over 100 people who have committed to the reunion. They include Vets from the Vietnam Era to the 7TH INF Light Troops who were stationed there when the fort was deactivated in 1994,” he says.
This will be a nostalgic event and will honor those who have served at Fort Ord.

Referring to Fort Ord as an “abandoned” military base is all but inaccurate. Many organizations are coming together to convert Fort Ord into a site that will strive to serve a meaningful purpose to our community. Fort Ord contributes greatly to the community’s nostalgic history.