Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), commonly known as Camp Parks, is a United States Army base located in Dublin, California, that is currently an active military and training center for U.S. Army Reserve personnel to be used in case of war or natural disaster.
Soon after the creation of the Seabees at the beginning of World War II, the U.S. Navy built a West Coast replacement and recuperation center for Naval Construction Battalions returning from overseas.
Thousands of Quonset huts and barracks and other buildings were subsequently dismantled through sales conducted by the War Assets Administration.
The first group of airmen arrived at Camp Parks in the summer of 1951, and mass training began in March 1952 as the 3275th Air Indoctrination Wing.
The Air Force first terminated basic training and then reinstated it that year, all in response to Defense Department budget problems.
In June 1965, U.S. Coast Guard Squadron One used the range facilities for small arms training in preparation for deployment to Vietnam.
[7] In 1973, the U.S. Army determined that Camp Parks was needed as a mobilization and training center for Reserve Components in the event of war or natural disaster.
James L. Thomas, a former radiation safety officer at Camp Parks, said, "They wouldn’t be allowed to do that today.
A 2014 inspection of a small area of Camp Parks found that "there is no evidence that radioactive material or sources were stored or used on the property.
"[9] In a project titled Bombs in Your Backyard, ProPublica found that the Camp Parks site contained "hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste.
"[13] Parks has a primary mission of exercising the functions of command, training, security, administration, servicing and supply to all troop units, military activities and other governmental agencies assigned or attached.
[14] The base also hosts the Federal Correctional Institute, Dublin, and is adjacent to Santa Rita Jail.