What places does the name Fort Bragg hide? Fort Bragg (North Carolina) How to get to Fort Bragg from California

In the summer - dreaming of cooling off, and in the winter - warming up and soaking up the sun's rays, most of us think about the beach with tenderness and slight melancholy. In the imagination of some, a coastline with soft and delicate sand appears, for others, the beach area is covered with sanded pebbles, while others see a wild rocky beach... After all, the beaches of the world are surprisingly diverse.

But rarely does anyone imagine a glass beach. And such a beach exists. And it is located in the town of Fort Bragg, California State, USA. Residents of this town love to relax on their glass beach.

Enlarged map of Fort Bragg. (Google maps)

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Fort Bragg on Google map maps

Glass Beach - Fort Bragg, California, USA.

The history of the beach begins in the forties of the last century. At that time, garbage from all over the town was brought to the territory of today's beach. When the amount of brought garbage reached a critical size, it was simply burned. This went on for more than twenty years. Only in 1967 the city authorities together with the council North coast According to water quality control, a decision was made to close this landfill. In accordance with accepted loss elimination and restoration programs local nature The area was cleared of large imported debris. But what to do with the “sea” of broken glass?
This is where the ocean came to the rescue. Less than six months later, this territory turned from a landfill into a clean, beautiful and unique sea coast.

Yes, yes, the ocean only had six months to turn sharp glass (or other sharp objects) into colored smooth pebbles. The ocean, like a kind master jeweler, has sharpened all the disgrace that man has left on its shore.

I don’t know where else, when approaching the ocean you will see the coast shining in the sun with all the colors of the rainbow.
The painstaking “work” of the ocean was appreciated not only by local residents, who chose this area as a beach. Many tourists began to come not only from all over America, but also from all over the world to admire the unique glass pebbles and relax on the glass beach. Glasses polished with water began to sell out as unique souvenirs. Local craftsmen quickly learned to make very beautiful baubles and necklaces from them.

Nowadays, by decree of local authorities, it is forbidden to collect glass pebbles polished by the ocean. But not everyone obeys this order from local authorities. Among those who do not obey the decree are shellfish and crabs living in coastal waters. They are happy to use this multi-colored glass building material in the construction of their homes.

Glass pebbles are home to shellfish and crabs.

This is almost a fairy tale story. Many once broken and discarded pieces of glass have transformed the coast into a colorful, sparkling, unique beach.

A short video to finish. As you can see, some pieces of glass remained “rough”, but I think that the beach still deserves the title of the most beautiful landfill in the world.

Popular wisdom says that there is no silver lining.

Glass Beach is in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California. The beach got its name due to the fact that it is covered with many glass pebbles, it is a landmark of the city.

Local residents, considering this place a dump, threw garbage there - household waste, old household appliances, cars, glass. In 1967, authorities closed the beach and carried out cleanup work several times. Uncollected small fragments of glass were polished by the waves and gradually the entire shore was strewn with thousands of multi-colored pieces of glass. The North Coast Water Quality Board has banned dumping waste in this area.

Over the course of several decades, nature itself dealt with the landfill: not a trace remained of the former garbage mountains. The sea waves cleared the beach and ground every piece of glass on the coast. As a result, the shape of the glass pebbles is no different from the pebbles we are used to, and now billions of pieces of glass litter the entire coastline, which is called Glass Beach.

In 2002, McCarricher Park acquired the Glass Coast. It has been cleaned up and opened to tourists, who can admire it for a nominal fee. amazing place. Crowds of tourists flocked to see this amazing beach. There are even craftsmen who make all sorts of souvenirs from these smooth pieces of glass, which are well bought by tourists who come to see this miracle of human industrial intervention in the affairs of nature. Despite the official ban, many tourists try to take some glass pebbles as a souvenir of Glass Beach.

According to various sources, glass decomposes from 500 to 1000 years, that is, in a maximum of a thousand years the incredible Glass Beach will turn into an ordinary sandy beach. But now this is one of the most beautiful places and the first unique beach, composed of man and nature.

When mentioning Fort Bragg in the United States, various associations arise. For some, the name of this area is associated with the amazing “glass” beach in California - a real miracle that Mother Nature herself worked on. And for some, Fort Bragg is one of the training centers of the United States of America, where the legendary Green Berets are trained.” Located in different states, these objects are of deep interest.

Glass Beach

Just north of San Francisco, on the coast Pacific Ocean, is the city of Fort Bragg, founded back in 1857. It is part of Mendocino County, California. The quiet provincial American city has become famous thanks to one attraction, which is a symbol of the fact that Nature will always remain stronger than man.

For several decades, the “crowns of nature” thoughtlessly mocked environment. They turned a small part of the coast into a dumping ground for household waste and even cars. Only in the late sixties did local authorities pay attention to the problem and eventually banned the dumping of garbage.

It is symbolic that the ocean returned their waste to people. On the shore of one of the beaches small multi-colored polished sea ​​water glass, which was chosen by sea inhabitants.

Reviews from tourists

A visit to Fort Bragg in California leaves many conflicting feelings. There are plenty of such beaches and bays damaged by human activity. Of interest is how Nature itself tries to cope with the disruption of the ecological balance.

Swimming is not allowed on this beach, and it is prohibited to remove colorful pebbles. This place is a wonderful example of human stupidity, making you think about what will be left for descendants.

Military base

The famous military unit Fort Bragg in North Carolina was named after the American commander Braxton Bragg. It was originally an artillery training ground, but since the twenties it has become a permanent military base, where the first brick barracks still remain.

Second World War identified the need for modern mobile military branches. For this reason, not only artillerymen and infantry, but also paratroopers and motorized riflemen were trained at Fort Bragg. The brilliant experience of Europeans in using special forces in local conflicts prompted the US leadership to create similar units at home.

President Kennedy understood the need and importance of Army Special Forces. The tasks assigned to specialists required not only excellent military qualifications, but also knowledge of the languages, customs and traditions of the peoples under close attention American military leadership.

Fort Bragg became not only a center for training reconnaissance and sabotage groups, but also a forge of personnel for conducting psychological warfare. This military unit became associated with the famous Green Berets. These guys know how to survive and fight in various climatic conditions - from desert to jungle, even the arctic cold is not scary for them.

Green Berets

The nature of North Carolina is perfectly suited for training top-class reconnaissance and saboteurs. The specificity of these units, which are the real cultural elite of the armed forces, at the initial stage of development was double subordination. On the one hand it was the army, on the other it was the CIA. After a series of high-profile scandals, they were reassigned to the Pentagon. Due to constant US interference in the internal affairs of various independent states these fighters always find themselves at the very forefront of the attack.

Careful selection, diverse and multi-level training create excellent specialists. The main emphasis is on the interchangeability of team members. The soldiers are capable of providing competent, qualified first aid, are well versed in modern means of communication, and know mine demolition.

The choice of region for service is strictly regulated. First of all, it depends on the external data of the fighter. For example, similarities with people from Southeast Asia will determine the future location and varieties of languages ​​studied.

Given the formidable reputation of “cruel punishers” and the publicity of means mass media, they are not respected among specialists. History knows cases when the vaunted Green Berets refused to participate in hostilities if for some reason their comfortable life was disrupted.

A striking example is the anecdotal incident with ice cream. The tough American soldiers simply refused to clear the area of ​​partisans and terrorists without receiving their favorite delicacy during the distribution of rations. The command had to resort to various tricks to cool the “righteous” anger of their patriots.

Conclusion

Famous American places wearing common name"Fort Bragg" is attracting attention thanks to unprecedented PR campaigns. Upon detailed and careful study, one can notice that behind all the gloss and brilliance one can see the consequences of ordinary human stupidity and vanity.

The military unit Fort Bragg is one of the main garrisons of the US Armed Forces. The Fort Bragg military unit is located mainly in Cumberland County (North Carolina) near the city of Fayetteville. Fort Bragg is also populated area with a population of 29,183 (as of 2000). The base is located on an area of ​​251 square meters. miles (650 km2). Named in memory of US Army General Braxton Bragg.

Camp Bragg was founded on September 4, 1918, as an artillery training area. It was named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg, born in North Carolina, who fought in Civil War North and South. By 1921, the camp was hosting training exercises for the 13th and 17th Field Artillery Brigades. The training camp soon became a permanent military base and was renamed Fort Bragg on September 30, 1922. In 1922, the field artillery command was moved here, and in 1923-1924 the first permanent brick barracks, which still exist, were erected.

The Second World War

By 1940, the population of the fort reached 5,400 people. However, as a result of intensive military preparations in light of the outbreak of World War II, the very next year it increased to 67,000. A number of infantry, motorized rifle, airborne and artillery units were trained here. During the war, the number of people in the fort reached 159,000 people.

Post-war years

After World War II, Fort Bragg became the permanent home of the 82nd Airborne Division. In July 1951, the command and control bodies of the XVIII Airborne Corps were re-formed in the fort. In addition, Fort Bragg became a center for the development of special methods of warfare: the Psychological Warfare Center was formed (April 1952), and then the 10th Special Forces Regiment, responsible for conducting psychological warfare.

Vietnam War

In 1961, the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 29th Artillery were reactivated for the purpose of training counterinsurgency forces for South-East Asia. That same year, the "Iron Mike" statue was erected at the Fort to commemorate Marines past, present and future. Fort Bragg became the main training center for the Green Berets. Training took place in three departments - sabotage and reconnaissance, anti-partisan and psychological warfare. Both the “Akbet” (field) and “Batket” (headquarters) teams trained at the center. Tactical exercises took place both at Fort Bragg itself and at other bases and training grounds. In June 1972, the I Corps command moved to Fort Bragg.

1980-1990s

Units stationed at the fort participated in military operations in Grenada in 1983, in Honduras in 1988, in Panama in 1989. In 1990, the XVIII Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division were transferred to Kuwait in support of Operation Desert Storm.

Present tense

As of 2011, the main command and control bodies of the Directorate of Special Forces are located on the territory of the Fort Bragg military unit...

October 2006

In the now distant Soviet times, I devoured a book about sworn overseas imperialists, “Gene Green - Untouchable,” the author of which was a certain foreign type named Grivadiy Gorpozhaks. (It later turned out that behind such a hard-to-pronounce name hid as many as three of our respected compatriots: GRIGORY POZHENYAN, VASILY AKSENOV and OvidY GORCHAKOV). Either youthful impressionability was to blame, or the action movie was really well written, but the adventures of the green beret of the US Army, performed by the son of a Russian emigrant, Evgeny Grinev, are firmly entrenched in my memory. The American special forces animals were described painfully vividly. The fact that they mercilessly exterminated the undaunted Viet Cong in the jungles of South Vietnam and raped local girls non-stop was understandable and predictable. Well, fascists, in a word. A product of enemy propaganda and a perverted consumer society. But on top of everything else, they always tried to kill each other. And this frostbite of theirs, along with other abilities according to the book, was explained by the peculiarities of the training of the Green Berets in their lair called Fort Bragg. And if many of the details of the book were forgotten, the interest in the menagerie-nursery remained completely. There was a second reason, which I will talk about later.

The teenage perception of a bipolar world, amended by Afghanistan and Chechnya, and the collapse of the Union with increased frequency of meetings with the Americans are long gone. But Fort Bragg remained on the radar of my interests, fueled by last years news that upon returning home from Iraq, the Green Berets continued their bloody massacres, but now against their own families. And it’s no wonder that once I was in the vicinity of North Carolina, I made a detour and went to Faithville, next to which it is located. Again using a well-established technique, I, unhindered as if invisible, pass through security control, while they inspect the rest of the cars with the thoroughness of Soviet border guards.

First impression - kind of typical military base USA, which I described in the first part of my spy notes about Fort Benning. But the elite nature of the units stationed here is noticeable in the details. Starting with the barracks - let's say this one, the 3rd Tactical Team, which is equipped like the best student dormitory and even with parking for personal vehicles in front of the building for each soldier. Well, the biggest difference from Benning was that I got here in the midst of a service day and military life was in full swing. Columns of trucks moved along the streets and roads, shooting was heard from shooting ranges, people in camouflage were scurrying back and forth. Moreover, all the people had crimson berets, and not just green ones. Well, crimson is understandable - in almost all armies of the world it is a symbol of airborne troops. Here, at Fort Bragg, the best, as everyone is sure, is located, the famous 82nd. And then it’s time to mention the second reason for my interest in F.B. I wanted to make comparisons and draw parallels with something much closer to me. With the 103rd Guards Airborne Division of the USSR. Ta, that Vitebsk, and the one that was the best in the Union.

So I was tense with the parallels. Well, from Pope AFB, which is adjacent to the Fort, a pot-bellied C-130 Hercules took off heavily, followed by a flight of A-10 attack aircraft. This was reminiscent of the 339th BTA Regiment, which served the 103rd. Although Zhurzhevo, where they were based, was not behind the fence and there were no attack aircraft there. And the training grounds are nearby, not like our Losvido. And there’s no mention of comfort in the barracks or the market.

And while I was conducting these geometric studies about parallels, I noticed an amazing thing. Here a certain civilian type is driving in a civilian car without a pass with non-local license plates and, with a clearly Russian accent, pesters the servicemen about where and what. But no one asked how I got here and what I was doing here, at an important military facility. I drove up to a separate house, and on it there was an inscription: “Department for the destruction of secret documentation.” Again no reaction. And anyway, the inhabitants of the Fort turned out to be sincere people. One even warned us where a military cop was sitting in ambush with a radar and reminded us to keep the speed limit of 25 m/h.

Surprised by this, I decided to delve deeper into them and find such a carefully hidden animal essence. I see a major from the 82nd going to his car and I walk towards him, asking who the inhabitants of Fort Bragg are. And he just smiled intricately and briefly commanded: “Follow me.” Well, I settled down behind his Tahoe, but I’m wondering to myself: “Where the bastard is he taking me? It’s just that I’ve played out my espionage games and now I’ll be interrogated with passion.” We drove for about 5 minutes. We stopped at a house surrounded by a green lawn with all sorts of cannons, machine guns and a transport plane on it. Then I immediately felt better, because I guessed where we were. That's right - the sign on the building read: "Museum of the 82nd Airborne Division." Excuse me,” says the major, without getting out of the car, “unfortunately, I don’t have time.” But you yourself walk around the museum, look, read, whoever you meet - torment you with questions. That’s where they parted, and I decided to myself that he could only work here as a “political instructor” - he knows how to carry out educational work.

Well, what can I say about the museum? If anyone has seen any of our divisional Museum of Military Glory, it’s almost the same. History from the moment of creation and the first battles back in the world, with the Kaiser's helmets for illustration, to the last operation. No, it was not Iraq, but the rescue of blacks from flooded New Orleans after Katrina. Well, in between, about the fact that the German experience during the landings in Cyprus and Norway was taken as the basis for the formation and training of the first American airborne division. In general - general knowledge, but nothing more. Not what I was looking for.

And, leaving the museum, I asked:
- Sir, I've been at Fort Bragg for half a day and haven't seen a single Green Beret yet.
- Oh, so they're on the corner of Ardennes and Riley.
- How to get there?
- I will show you now.

With these words I was supplied detailed map Fort for new arrivals. With her, things went faster and soon I pulled up to a one-story building, comfortably located among tall trees, with a sign: “US Army Special Forces Training Center.” Despite the height of the day, the area was deserted. It was dangerous to go inside without an invitation, so I followed a couple of servicemen in camouflage who were heading to the next building.

Gentlemen, are you Green Berets?
- Oh, no, we're not from Bragg at all. And here on a business trip we decided to go to the museum.

Now I just noticed that on the building, the entrance to which was guarded by our DShK (probably traded with the dushmans for Stingers), there is a sign “D.F. Kennedy Special Forces Museum.” Okay, I decided to myself, let’s see what they say to themselves officially speaking.

It turned out that they didn’t say that much. Probably due to the specifics of my work. Well, there’s a little about their equipment from 20 years ago, like pistol gloves and shooting pens. Or scuba gear, although they don’t seem to be Navy SEALs. The most famous operations in Vietnam, Grenada and Panama are modestly described. With all this, it warmed my heart to see the respect with which they treat our weapons. I have already mentioned the DShK, and at the Grenada stand I read an excited ode to our PC as the best machine gun in the world. The largest exhibition was the mannequin show “Interrogation of an Iraqi Prisoner of War.” Despite all my efforts, no electrical wires connected to the Iraqi eggs were found. And the whole diorama resembled an intimate conversation between friends at a table with a pile of chewing gum. In short, they sculpted the hunchback to the fullest. And that I, naive, expected the full truth about Abu Gharib.

In a shop at the museum, among other special forces paraphernalia, such as knives and brass knuckles, I found them under a glass cover main symbol- green beret. It was a sin to leave Fort Bragg without such a souvenir, and I hesitantly asked if I could buy it.

Of course, sir. What's your size? B2?
- Uh... Yes, bring what you have, we’ll sort it out.

They brought it, selected it in size and I was able to get a better look at the beret. It is made of dark green wool and in low light it looks almost black. On the lining everything is as it should be: a patch for the name, rank and personal number. And, to my joy, no Maid in China. I selected a flush to suit his taste, which, as it turned out, belongs to the US Special Forces Command, pinned it with their emblem with crossed arrows (in memory of the Indian scouts who carried out “special operations” back in the 19th century) and a sword, with the motto “De oppresso liber" (Liberation of the oppressed - lat.) and, twisting his beret over his ear, left the museum. And then I finally found someone alive. At a table under the trees the “young man” had his lunch, and on a bench closer to the Center sat an elderly black man in dress uniform and a green beret! It's clear that I headed straight for the latter.

Sir, do you mind if I sit next to you?
- Sit down, of course. What, did you come to the ceremony too?
- Uh... Ceremony?
- Today is graduation at the Center. My youngest is finished. He followed in my footsteps.

Seeing that the man was moved by family traditions, he touched his nerve and the conversation went in the right direction. At the same time, I want to note that Andre did not express any surprise at the fact that there was a Russian sitting here, next to the Green Beret Training Center and next to him. And his hand did not reach either to my throat or in search of a weapon. We talked to him about life, although from the outside it might have looked like we were measuring our pussies. He told me about his service in the 7th Special Forces Group and how he fought in Grenada and Panama. Well, I’m talking about our 103rd, how it took Kabul in December ’79, and for Afghanistan in general. We had a good talk. I even underlined useful information for travel, since Andre was a survival instructor. Mostly in the jungle. While talking about Colombia, he mentioned a tree in the roots of which there were bubbles with several liters of water. If I ever decide to cross the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia, this information will be useful to me. As long as I find these trees. When people began to leave the doors of the Center, it was time to say goodbye.

This was the end of my visit to Fort Bragg to the American special forces. Apparently so much water has passed under the bridge since the days when "Gene Green" was written that both the Fort and they have changed. Probably, if you want, you can still find enough atrocities here today. But I didn’t see it that day.

P.S. A few days later, I had the opportunity to observe how special forces paraphernalia affected those around me. Already a thousand kilometers from Fort Bragg in a completely different state, I looked at a completely non-military exhibition located in the building of the American Legion. I wasn’t wearing a green beret, but I was wearing another souvenir from FB - a T-shirt with the inscription “Special Forces Command” and their emblems. As soon as I entered the building, two people approached me. One, an old man, dreamily rolled his eyes, told me that he was at Fort Bragg in 1959. Another, younger one, introduced himself as retired colonel so-and-so and said that he was in charge of actions to support American troops in Iraq at the gates of the MacDill base (where Central Command is located USA, responsible for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan).

We have already collected 75 thousand dollars and donated it to you.
Feeling like Ostap with the police badge of the city of Kyiv, I quickly forgot about the exhibition and retreated from the Legion so as not to have to account for where I spent their money.

Pilgrim
15/12/2006 22:55

The opinions of tourists may not coincide with the opinions of the editors.