As the principal non-agricultural employer in Yuma County, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground plays a vigorous role in the economic stability of Southwest Arizona and contributes significantly to the economic health of the entire state. The proving ground is an active consumer in the Yuma County economy through its purchase of standard goods and services and its requirements for high technology items and services related to its mission.
YPG is Yuma County's largest single employer of civilians and is one of the largest consumers of local goods and services of all the government organizations in the county. Federal impact funds are provided to the local community to help defray educational costs for dependents of civilian and military employees.
Yuma Proving Ground has an aggressive affirmative action program which ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or handicap. The affirmative action profile of the civilian workforce has remained fairly constant over recent years, with white males represented at about 53 percent, white females at 21 percent, minority males at 18 percent, and minority females at eight percent.
YPG plays host to several tenants from military organizations around the nation. The most recent addition is the Military Freefall School, a part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The freefall school is made up of nearly 100 permanent instructors who annually train approximately 1000 students from all the military services in freefall parachute techniques. Test operations at the Cold Regions Test Center at Fort Greely, Alaska, and the Tropic Regions Test Center are managed by YPG officials. Tropic testing takes place in Hawaii, and other tropic areas, as negotiated and required for individual test missions.
Yuma Proving Ground hosts over 17,000 visitors per year. These include test customers, training units, U.S. government and foreign dignitaries, local organizations, and school groups. This volume of visitors generates a huge volume of revenue for local hotels, restaurants, airlines, and area businesses.
The YPG Heritage Center is open to the public, where visitors learn about the proving ground's and the Army's history. There is no charge for visiting the center, which has proved to be a very popular attraction. Numerous tours of the proving ground for school and other groups were offered throughout the year by the Public Affairs Office. YPG has come to symbolize an extremely effective working/living partnership with the community.
The U.S. Army Parachute Team (the Golden Knights) uses Yuma Proving Ground as it's winter training site. The team's high speed aerial acrobatics attracted thousands of winter visitors and local residents to the proving ground. Members of the team participated in numerous civic events, such as the Silver Spur Rodeo and the Yuma Air Show at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, during this time.
YPG has an aggressive environmental program that assures compliance with both state and federal regulatory standards for pollution abatement. YPG invests heavily in environment and safety programs that protect human health and the natural environment. As a major federal land manager in southwest Arizona, YPG is the responsible steward of natural resources for over 838,000 acres of land, practicing sustained yield and multiple use management consistent with our test mission.
Yuma Proving Ground is proud to be an integral part of the economic structure of Yuma County and the state of Arizona. Its numerous sophisticated and highly instrumented facilities and test mission capabilities have expanded greatly since its humble beginnings in 1943, as has its relationship with the community and the state. The proving ground's unique capabilities, together with a military and civilian workforce of dedicated professionals, make U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground truly the "Proving Ground of the Future."
Our working population is divided among Department of Defense civil service civilian employees; test and support soldiers including tenants from the Army Medical Command at Fort Irwin; non-appropriated fund employees who support the morale and welfare activities; civilian contractors who perform many of the base support and test support functions; and foreign representatives, usually visitors, who test equipment and munitions at USAYPG.
In season (October to March), USAYPG is frequented by winter visitors, many of them retired military. Popular attractions are the Cactus Cafe; Coyote Lanes Bowling Center; and performances by the U.S. Army Golden Knights precision parachute team, who use USAYPG for their winter training. On-base housing provides homes for the soldiers, Marines, and some of the civilian workers at USAYPG.
The presence of the U.S. Army in Yuma goes back to 1850, when Fort Yuma was constructed on a hill overlooking the important Yuma crossing of the Colorado River. Since then, several transformations have taken place resulting in the present day Yuma Proving Ground. YPG is home to numerous personnel, encompassing Soldiers, civilians and contractors. We provide excellent testing and training facilities in all weather conditions.
A 1,300 square mile test and evaluation range for military systems, including aircraft weapons, tanks, and artillery. Operated by the Army, with about 2,000 workers, the Proving Grounds have an average of 100 tests operating simultaneously within its complex of heavily instrumented and specialized test areas. The reservation is roughly L-shaped, with aircraft-related activities taking place on the north-south Cibola Range, and artillery and tank activities on east-west Kofa Range. The Cibola Range incorporates 840 square miles of controlled unrestricted airspace over highly challenging terrain and allows helicopters a 360-degree field of fire. Yuma Test Center's (YTC) Kofa overland artillery range extends 55 miles, making it the longest such range in the nation. The "Middle East Desert Cross-Country Course" is one of several ground courses for testing motive equipment for use in desert warfare environments
The Garrison fully supports the YPG installation infrastructure through maintenance and upkeep of: 603 buildings totaling 2,065,527 sq ft; 214 housing units; 183 miles of paved roads; 822 miles of unpaved roads; 383 miles of electric lines; and 12 sewage lagoons.
Major tenant organizations include: the Military Freefall School (MFFS) that trains students from all the military services in advanced freefall parachuting techniques each year. The school conducts approximately 30 various classes per year, training approximately 850 students. Special Operations Terminal Controller Course (SOTACC) conducts 5 classes per year and trains approximately 75 students. The Military Health Clinic has active duty military and civilian employees assigned. During FY05 the clinic treated approximately 1992 personnel for various ailments and injuries. YPG is the winter training home for the Army's precision parachute team, the Golden Knights. The team first started coming to YPG in 1973.
