Marines To Train In Mock City As Big As San Diego

Jan 25, 11:39 AM EST
Courtesy Of "The Stars & Stripes"

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (AP) -- A 1,560-building mock city that's roughly the size of San Diego has risen in the Southern California desert.

The $170 million Marine Corps urban training center at the Twentynine Palms military base is some 130 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center facility that debuts Tuesday uses mock cities and role players to prepare Marines and sailors for urban terrain missions.

The Palm Springs Desert Sun reports the new center expands on a similar training program called Mojave Viper, which launched in 2005 to prepare troops for the war and life in Iraq.