This summer, you can expect more traffic on the ground and in the sky as thousands of soldiers head to Camp Atterbury for training.
More than 200 Indiana National Guard units and groups from other states will bring more than 30,000 people to the military installation near Edinburgh for their two-week annual training throughout the summer. Those trainings, which will be spread out during the summer, join other planned events, such as brigade warfighter training and an evaluation for the 76th Brigade.
Military officials are warning residents that they can expect more vehicles on the roads, more planes and helicopters in the air and more noise from the installation through the middle of August.
National Guard units are required to do a two-week training every year so they are prepared for multiple scenarios, from combat to helping in a local emergency, said Capt. Jessica Cates, director of public affairs for Camp Atterbury.
“You want them to be ready if they ever happen to be called on again for anything, home or away. This helps them prepare,” she said.
Soldiers will be using both Camp Atterbury and the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, which is located in Jennings County.
That means residents and motorists should expect to see more military convoys on the roads traveling to the different facilities, she said.
Camp Atterbury also will be hosting some aviation units for their training, meaning more planes and helicopters will be in the area, she said. The units will be doing training on bombing and strafing, but most of that won’t be noticeable to people outside of the installation, she said.
And the units will be using the shooting range at Camp Atterbury, which can begin in the morning and continue into the evening, Cates said.
Military officials will try to update the Camp Atterbury website and social media pages to give residents some warning when units will be training at the range so people aren’t concerned, she said.
Summer is the best time for training with the warm weather, so this is a common time of year for activity to increase at Camp Atterbury, she said.
And that is in addition to other exercises, including the brigade warfighter training, which will bring in 1,000 to 2,000 people for about two weeks, and the 76th Brigade exercise, which will bring in about 3,500 at the end of July, she said.
