Camp Murray is state headquarters for Washington National Guard (WANG), Washington State Guard and the Washington Air National Guard.
Location
Camp Murray is located next to Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington.
View Larger Map
History
Camp Murray has a military history that predates its largest sibling, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, by an entire generation. Camp Murray was in use during the Indian War of 1855 as a spot for military training associated with Fort Steilacoom. The location was officially commissioned as a National Guard Base in 1889, pre-dating Fort Lewis by a generation. Camp Murray became the National Guard’s state headquarters in 1922.
During its storied history, Guardsmen assigned to the camp have seen a wide range of missions. They include disaster relief efforts, the Mexican Border campaign against Pancho Villa, both World Wars, the Korean War, the Berlin crisis, the Vietnam War, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and most recently the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Old Arsenal Museum at Camp Murray tells the story of the Washington National Guard gate entrance. You can see a collection of vehicles, from a M-47 tank to an F-101 jet fighter. The distance between the tank and the jet, approximately 134 feet, represents the number of years between the camp’s use by the U.S. military in 1855 and Washington’s Centennial in 1989. Other distances represent the number of Guardsmen mobilized, injured or killed in various campaigns around the globe.
The Washington Military Department’s is also home to the Emergency Operations Center, the state’s headquarters for emergency responses.
Contact Information
Washington State National Guard
Bldg 1, Camp Murray
Tacoma, WA
98430-5000
Phone: (253) 512-8000