Testing virtually every piece of equipment in the ground combat arsenal is U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s (YPG) primary mission.

Yet for 30 years the Military Freefall School (MFFS), part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, has utilized the proving ground to train thousands of the military’s most elite paratroopers.

Since the opening of one of the world’s largest vertical wind tunnels here in 2014, the MFFS’s mission has increased significantly. In recent years, an effort has been made to consolidate the school’s activities into a single campus on post. On the afternoon of March 26, 2025, ground was broken for the construction of a Ready Building for MFFS students.

YPG Commander Col. John Nelson, Command Sgt. Maj. Mark Millare, Garrison Manager Ken Musselwhite, and Deputy Garrison Manager Dan Carter joined officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and personnel affiliated with the construction contractors for the ceremony. The new building will house student team rooms, a multi-purpose room, latrines, locker rooms and showers, and is expected to enhance the nation’s Special Forces capabilities.

“One of the methods we use to clandestinely infiltrate a denied area is under canopy of a military parachute,” said Maj. Matthew Morneault, Military Freefall School Commander. “This project helps build the strategic capability that will continue to hold our adversaries’ assets at risk.”

Morneault cited the increased safety and efficiency that the new building will provide for the school’s mission by locating student facilities closer to where the MFFS trains.

“We are taking untrained individuals and teaching them to do military freefall: It’s not as easy as you may see on TV and a lot of things can go wrong,” said Morneault. “The fatigue on a jumper going out six times a day increases risk. This building will reduce risk so our operators can perform the last jump of the day the same as they did the first jump of the day.”

The structure, built by Pilkington Construction, is scheduled for completion in 2026.