Camp Ripley Open House Set For Sunday

Have you ever seen a military vehicle driving down the road and wished you could hop in for a ride? Well, now is your chance. Camp Ripley will be opening their doors to the public this Sunday for a chance to explore military life.

“We’re going to have the C1-30, a Blackhawk, a schnook, which is the double blade choppers a lot of people see will be on display. We will have about 20 different military vehicles ranging from tanks to Humvees,” said Staff Sgt. Tim Krouth, Community Relations Specialist at Camp Ripley.

Visitors of all ages that come to Camp Ripley on Sunday will able to experience what it is like ride in a Humvee. Thousands of visitors from all over the state are expected to attend.

“We’re not their enemy, we are their friend, and we want to open up our doors and showcase what we have,” said Staff Sgt. Krouth. “It’s not everyday people get up close and personal with some of these vehicles.”

Resources for soldiers and veteran services will be available during the open house.

“A big part for me is seeing all of the veterans that come through, and you get to talk with them and they say, “I remember driving a vehicle like this back in my day,” and that opens up stories and gets them talking,” said Staff Sgt. Krouth.

This year, a special Korean War veterans ceremony will take place at 1 p.m., and following that the change of command ceremony will begin.