POW Training camp in Minnesota?

If this is in the wrong forum, please move it.

I work for a trucking company that hauls huge concrete pipes, walls, etc. One of our drivers had a delivery to Camp Ripley, located in Central MN. He told me this, and what he saw, and, suprisingly, how relaxed security was.

First, at the guard station, he wasn't asked for any ID at all (although he WAS in a commercial tractor-trailer with a flat bedd full of concrete. He wasnt given any "pass" or ID badge, which struck him as odd. As he started driving into the camp down a long road, he says he say signs like "POW Training Camp" with directions. He also saw a few signs that said "Do not handle unexploded artillery", which he got a chuckle out of.

Anyways, the product he was delivering was being dropped off at this "POW Training Camp" within Camp Ripley. Is that odd? Or is that something that normally happens - training military personal for POW Training camps. Niether him or I have any military experiance, so your thoughts are appreciated.



[edit on 25-4-2008 by Spoontoad]

reply to post by Spoontoad


I’m not sure about any of that, but have you seen all those strange unmarked busses driving down I-94 with tinted windows and no passengers - one after another between moorhead and maybe as far south as Minneapolis nearly every day? What company has the money to do this?

What is it about Minnesota? I have a friend who took some photos of a railyard in Central Minn. of a railyard with white, U.N.-marked passenger cars all lined up pretty as can be. He showed me the self-taken photos and sure enough, white passenger cars with blue U.N. lettering and U.N. car numbers (eg- UN 54287, UN 63410, etc (these are NOT actual #'s)).

Maybe to put POWs in? Mind you I was shown these pics going on 10 years ago.

I'm going to Minneapolis/St. Paul this summer and I'll look into Camp Ripley if I can.

Cuhail

I havnt seen any busses with tinted windows, but then again, I live in the south metro area, and because I'm a mechanic and not a driver, I dont even travel I-94 much these days.

I never heard about the UN Rail Cars except 1 other time about 5 years ago. The Twin Cities & suburbs have alot of train & rail yards, so I dont doubt that at all.

Camp Ripley is for the Minnesota Nation Guard, plus sports training forwhatever reason, and the Minnesota State Patrol also has some training there, so it is kind of open to the "public". Wikipedia - Camp Ripley

So to us, it was odd. First, why would this sign, and the obvious construction., be out in the open, and 2nd, is this really just for training for troops possiably going to Irag or elswhere? Or is it for something possiable in the future. For all we know, it's the guards 2 week training.

reply to post by Spoontoad
Hey spoontoad,
I too live in the south metro, I haven't seen those buses either, but maybe the pow training camp at Ripley is for training our National Guard members that may be guarding pows in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's my hope anyway. Who knows what the wackos in Washington DC are thinking.

Originally posted by sexysadie
reply to post by Spoontoad

 

I’m not sure about any of that, but have you seen all those strange unmarked busses driving down I-94 with tinted windows and no passengers - one after another between moorhead and maybe as far south as Minneapolis nearly every day? What company has the money to do this?

I live in MN. Those are simply charter busses taking tourists and retired people to various casinos around the state. The indian reservations charter them. Many of them leave from the Mall of America.