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Colonel Troy Fink gives Camp Ripley annual update, highlights construction, training and planned burns
Summary
Colonel Troy Fink told the Baxter City Council that Camp Ripley’s mission is steady, noted leadership changes and construction investment (slide referenced ~$60,000,000), and said the installation plans about 15,000 acres of prescribed burns this year (about 40% complete).
Colonel Troy Fink, garrison commander at Camp Ripley, briefed the Baxter City Council on the installation’s annual activities, leadership changes and community outreach.
Fink said Camp Ripley’s mission has remained consistent and noted personnel shifts at multiple command levels, including a command change at the 34th Infantry Division and his own planned retirement in June, with Lieutenant Colonel Steve Ball slated to succeed him. He told the council the installation has increased construction and modernization spending, referencing roughly $60,000,000 in planned work and naming Area 5 as a priority for upgraded facilities and year‑round soldier housing.
Why it matters: Camp Ripley’s construction and training schedule influence regional economic activity and local services. The installation hosts training that brings active‑duty personnel into the area, supports partner agency academies and provides mutual‑aid services to local emergency responders.
Fink described training throughput and environmental work: “We scored number 2 as a training center across the nation in terms of our activities and our throughput,” he said, and said the installation expects to remain busy through the summer with artillery, tanks and other maneuver training. On environmental management, he said the installation plans about 15,000 acres of prescribed burns this year and that the program is roughly 40% complete so far. He added the installation will notify the public via Camp Ripley’s Facebook and Instagram pages ahead of burns.
On public safety and unexploded ordnance, Fink described a recent EOD response after a resident reported a Vietnam‑era hand grenade; the base’s EOD team removed the item and the commander urged members of the public not to touch suspicious ordnance and to call 911 if found off base or public safety/range operations contacts if on base.
Fink also previewed a museum grand opening planned for September and said the installation works with a museum board and executive director Randall Dietrich on preparations. He invited the public to his June 6 change‑of‑command and retirement ceremony.
The council followed with brief questions about burn safety and mutual aid; Fink said only trained personnel enter impact zones for burns and that Camp Ripley will call on local fire and ambulance departments for mutual‑aid support when additional resources are needed.
