Umatilla Chemical Depot to be renamed after former Oregon General
By Dan Thesman on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA – The Umatilla Chemical Depot will be renamed the Raymond F. Rees Training Center, in honor of Maj. Gen. (Ret) Raymond F. Rees, during a ceremony at the installation on Sept. 29, according to the Oregon Military Department.
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Raymond F. Rees is a retired Oregon Guardsman and served as The Adjutant General, Oregon for more than 16 years, providing the state of Oregon and the United States with a ready force of citizen soldiers and airmen. Rees also held various high-level positions in the National Guard Bureau and Pentagon during his military service and as a civilian.
The depot originally opened in 1941 as the Umatilla Army Ordnance Depot, used to store munitions and conduct supply operations. In 1962, the installation began storing and maintaining chemical munitions. In 2011 the disposal of all chemical agents at the site was complete and in 2012 the U.S. Army officially closed the installation.
In 2017 a license was signed by the Oregon Military Department to secure 7,500 of the depot’s former 17,055 acres as a training site for the Oregon National Guard. The Raymond F. Rees Training Center will be the home of the 249th Regional Training Institute, providing a premiere joint and inter-agency training facility.
Photo of Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Raymond F. Rees via Oregon Military Department
