Camp Rapid
Camp Rapid is a South Dakota Army National Guard installation located in Westside, Rapid City, South Dakota just inside the edge of the Black Hills. Although the South Dakota state capital is Pierre, South Dakota, the state's Adjutant General has his office and headquarters in Camp Rapid. Background Camp Rapid developed as a summer encampment site for the South Dakota National Guard in the early 20th century, using land borrowed from the Bureau of Indian Affairs "Sioux Sanitorium" and Rapid City Indian School, today's Indian Health Service (IHS) SiouxSan Hospital, located just west of Camp Rapid. It became a permanent installation during and immediately after World War I, when it was used for mobilization of National Guard units for the front in France. Its use continued during the 1920s and 1930s, and it was taken over as a federal installation during World War II. Permanent and temporary buildings erected during World War II continue in use today. During the Cold War, Camp Rapid continued to host and support National Guard activities, including a series of annual exercises involving National Guard troops from many states conducting operations in the Black Hills. In the early 1990s, a new series of building projects