Arizona Governor visits U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground

This article was written in contribution by Mark Schauer of Yuma Proving Ground

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs paid a visit to U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) today, the first sitting governor to visit the post in more than two decades.

YPG Commander Col. John Nelson and Yuma Test Center Commander Lt. Col. Kevin Hicks escorted Hobbs on an overflight of the post’s ranges and visits to a vehicle test and the Military Freefall School’s (MFFS) wind tunnel.

“I think it is an excellent opportunity for us to demonstrate for the governor what we do here at YPG for Army modernization, joint service modernization, and for our international partners who test here,” said Nelson. “It’s also an opportunity to identify and demonstrate some of the areas of cooperation and collaboration that we have with local, state, and federal officials in order to make our mission happen.”

Nelson started the visit with a comprehensive briefing for Hobbs that was attended by YPG senior leaders, as well as Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls.

“YPG is a jewel of Yuma with great local and national impact which can only begin to be understood by visiting it,” said Nicholls. “It was great to have Governor Hobbs here to see all of YPG’s great work and dramatic impact.”

“The mayor’s presence this morning reinforced it is important to Yuma, but also the entire state,” said Hobbs. “I focus a lot on job creation and a lot of those jobs are in aerospace in defense, and right here is where we are seeing those put into action.”

After the briefing, the governor visited one of YPG’s more than 200 miles of vehicle testing courses to witness a test of a M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank, then took an overflight of a portion of the post’s nearly 1,200 square mile range. She concluded the tour with a visit to the MFFS vertical wind tunnel with briefings from MFFS Commander Maj. Matthew Morneault and Sgt. Maj. Matthew Krueger.

“All of the military installations we have in our state are so critical to the economy, and I want to make sure as governor that the state is being a good partner,” said Hobbs. “Every time I visit a military installation, it reinforces how critical Arizona is to our national defense and security.”