Originally Published December 1989

What has been billed as the premier MOUT facility on the East Coast is rapidly shaping up at Camp Lejeune. The combat town for training Marines in military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) is 90 percent complete and will be ready for a housewarming early next spring. Residential homes, complete with backyards and interior hiding places, as well as commercial and public buildings are represented.

The $7.8 million MOUT facility covers about 20 acres adjacent to Camp Lejeune's Fox-3 machinegun range where live-fire exercises are held. Firing inside the town will be restricted to blank cartridges or the use of MILES (multiple integrated laser engagement system), at least until the construction of buildings can be modified to prevent ricochets. LtCol David N. Buckner, the base range control officer, said such modification, using an Army-developed substance called Sacon that absorbs bullets and grenade fragments, is being considered.

Camp Lejeune's MOUT facility is more than a replica of an urban combat arena. It is international in character, having Mediterranean-style buildings. Street signs appear in several languages to simulate realistic contingency environments.

The town's high school, besides classrooms, has a soccer field (for use as a helicopter landing zone), and a gymnasium that can be used as a holding area for "evacuees" or as a detention center for prisoners of war. The roof of the town's reinforced bank building can accommodate a CH-53E helicopter.

Crushed gravel roads lie outside the town's perimeter to accommodate tracked vehicles. The roads are paved inside the town to facilitate movement of light armored vehicles. The facility will have street lighting, a moat for rubber boat operations, and a partial sewage system.