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BASTROP – Joseph Meller, who has been involved with the military for almost 25 years, said his experience serving in the military translates to serving the community he lives.
“The fortunate thing for me is if you peel back the onion of what the military is about and it is leadership,” Meller said. “The leadership books for the military are written really well. They are fantastic on how to lead, warp people and how to treat people. I am able to take those lessons and apply them.”
Meller is the base operations supervisor for Camp Swift, a training site for the Texas National Guard located in Bastrop. He oversees the day-to-day functions of the camp in this role.
National Guard members at the camp are trained in infantry skills, weapon firings, air dropping, tan maneuvering and other various skills.
The camp has firearm ranges, helicopter landing sites, a gas chamber for training, a drop zone for airborne units and navigation testing zones.
“We have all the fun stuff that the Army does, all the cool stuff you see on the commercials,” Meller said.
The camp opened in 1942 in the midst of World War II to be a training base. Despite only being designed to hold around 44,000 soldiers, the camp held a peak of around 90,000 during the war.
Camp Swift also held about 3,500 German prisoners of war, many of whom returned to Texas after the war’s conclusion.
The camp was named after General Eben Swift, a widely-recognized leader from the first World War. Swift is known as the leader of the original 82nd infantry division, which would later become the 82nd Airborne Division.
Meller said this coming May will be special for Camp Swift since it marks the 82nd anniversary.
“That is kind of a neat highlight,” Meller said. “I would love to see a community event, but I don’t know if we’ll have the time to put one together.”
The camp now covers about one-fifth of the acres it had in World War II.
In addition to his role at Camp Swift, Meller also serves as a trustee on the Taylor Independent School District board.
