| Training Area B, Catoctin Mountain Park |
In early 1942, as the United States prepared to deploy clandestine operatives into occupied territory, Colonel William J. Donovan began searching for a secluded yet practical location to train his newly formed Office of Strategic Services (OSS). His requirements were exacting: the site had to be remote enough to conduct demolitions and live-fire exercises without endangering civilians or attracting attention, but also close enough to Washington, D.C. to allow for rapid communication with the President. Electricity and running water were considered essential, even in the most rustic setting.
Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area (Now Catoctin Mountain Park), situated north of Frederick in Maryland, is a forested, mountainous region covering approximately 3,600 hectares and lying around 120 kilometres north of Washington, D.C. It is selected as the initial site for the Office of Strategic Services basic paramilitary training for both Special Operations and Secret Intelligence personnel. The location is officially designated as Training Area B, reflecting its role as the base for the preliminary paramilitary instruction.
The site benefits from existing infrastructure, cabins, dining halls, kitchens, and various facilities constructed during the late 1930’s by the Works Progress Administration, as well as a nearby Civilian Conservation Corps work camp. These installations enable Training Area B to accommodate up to three hundred trainees, in addition to a station cadre comprising seventy-five staff members and instructors.
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Back Row (left to right):
Captain William H. Parkin – Instructor, Lieutenant Frank Gleason – Instructor, Lieutenant Charles Applegate – Instructor, Lieutenant Elmer Harris – Instructor, Captain Rex Kessler – Medical Officer, Unknown officer, Captain Jerry Sage – Instructor, Special Operations Branch & Executive Officer, Possibly Commander Vanderbilt, United States Naval Reserve – Visitor
Front Row (left to right):
Captain George White – Instructor, Captain Joseph Kharb – Instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Ainsworth – Attaché (Government), Major William Kunjara – Free Thai Government Representative, Major Blogg “Dan” – Camp Commander and Instructor (Great Britain), Unidentified officer – Visitor
| Training Area B |
In March 1942, the War Department secures a lease for the site from the Department of the Interior. Initially, in April 1942, munitions and explosives are stored in hand-dug earthen caves. Weapons are housed in a wooden structure across the field in front of the Mess Hall at B-2.
Training operations begin in early April, with Area B receiving its first intake of Special Operations trainees. This initial cohort includes half of the original personnel of Office of Strategic Services Detachment 101, who are scheduled to deploy to India and Burma; the other half are undergoing parallel training at Camp X in Canada. As such, Area B becomes the first dedicated training establishment for Office of Strategic Services operatives within the United States.
Over the following two years, Area B undergoes several changes in its operational tempo, including periods when training is temporarily suspended and only the permanent staff remain on-site. While originally established for basic Special Operations training, the camp eventually hosts personnel from multiple branches of the Office of Strategic Services.
By 1943, the Army Corps of Engineers replaces these facilities with a reinforced cinderblock armoury, guarded by an armed sentry. This secure arsenal contains M1 Garand semi-automatic rifles, Springfield 1903 bolt-action sniper rifles, Thompson submachine guns, .45 calibre automatic pistols, .33 calibre pistols, hand grenades, and 60-millimetre trench mortars.
To support demolitions instruction, the Army Corps of Engineers levels a 30-metre by 30-metre section within a 6-hectare clearing to the north of the old Civilian Conservation Corps camp. This location, now known as Chestnut Picnic Area, is used to train recruits in the handling of hand grenades and rifle-launched grenades. Before the B-5 rifle range is completed, firearms training takes place at Fort Ritchie, a U.S. Army base approximately 8 kilometres northwest of the camp. Fort Ritchie serves as both the headquarters for the Maryland National Guard and the U.S. Army Military Intelligence School.
By the end of 1943, a permanent rifle range is constructed west of B-5, featuring manually operated targets controlled by men using a pulley-and-rope system. Here, trainees receive instruction in the use of both Allied and Axis weaponry to ensure familiarity in combat scenarios.
By 1943 and 1944, it also accommodates trainees from the Operational Groups, along with individuals from Secret Intelligence and other operational divisions of both the Office of Strategic Services and its predecessor organisation, the Coordinator of Information. Notably, during this period, all staff and trainees at Area B are male.
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| Camp B-2 |
Camp B-2, known today as Camp Greentop, consists during the war years of a collection of rustic chestnut cabins, a mess hall with adjoining kitchen, a recreation hall, a headquarters building, and a swimming pool. The pool is drained and covered over during wartime operations, remaining unused for the duration. The camp is divided into four groups of cabins, each served by a latrine block with toilets and wash basins. At first, there is no provision for hot water.
Two of the original buildings are designated as living quarters for officers and instructional staff. The two recreational buildings are repurposed as multifunctional spaces, serving as classrooms, reading rooms, and a small theatre for lectures and briefings. The children’s cabins, originally designed with four cots, are converted into two-man quarters for Office of Strategic Services trainees. Indoor toilets are installed, the cabins are insulated, and wood-burning stoves are added to provide heating through the colder months.
By 1943, with the arrival of larger numbers of recruits, additional rectangular temporary barracks are constructed, each capable of accommodating ten men. The present-day mess hall at Camp Greentop is not the original structure but occupies the same location as the wartime facility. The current recreation hall is larger than the one used by Office of Strategic Services trainees, reflecting post-war redevelopment.
The building now serving as the camp office is the former headquarters of the Office of Strategic Services officers at B-2. Behind this, permanent classroom structures are erected during the war, designed to accommodate between 15 and 20 students per session. A motor pool is established at the disused Civilian Conservation Corps camp, now known as Camp Round Meadow, situated roughly 1.6 kilometres west of B-2.
By October 1943, Camp B-2 reaches a maximum capacity of 149 personnel, comprising 20 officers and 129 enlisted men. The camp functions as a secure and self-contained environment for the training of elite operatives in preparation for clandestine operations abroad.
| Camp B-5 |
In September 1942, the permanent Office of Strategic Services cadre relocates to the abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps camp, today known as Camp Round Meadow. This site is designated as “B-5” and assumes the role of camp headquarters, while the primary training facility for students and instructors remains at B-2.
The former Civilian Conservation Corps camp is well-equipped, featuring existing office buildings, officers’ quarters, an educational hall, a recreational building, a mess hall with adjoining kitchen, a medical dispensary, and five barracks. The original Civilian Conservation Corps barracks, now no longer standing, are located behind what is presently the dining hall at Camp Round Meadow.
The Army Corps of Engineers undertakes significant renovations to adapt the site for Office of Strategic Services use. Hot water is installed, flush toilets are added, the water supply and waste disposal systems are upgraded, and a walk-in refrigerator is constructed for the mess hall. These improvements ensure that B-5 can support a larger operational capacity and serve as an administrative centre for the training operation.
The largest structure at B-5 is the mess hall, which accommodates up to 50 men. In addition to its dining function, it also doubles as a lecture theatre for training sessions and is occasionally used to screen Hollywood films for recreation. Just outside the mess hall stands a smaller building that operates as a post exchange during the war. This same structure continues to exist today and now functions as a nurse’s station at Round Meadow.
By October 1943, B-5 reaches a peak capacity of 265 individuals, comprising 25 officers, 40 enlisted men, and 200 trainees. With its enhanced infrastructure and expanded capacity, B-5 becomes the central hub of Office of Strategic Services operations in the Catoctin training area.
| Training Facilities |
The men recruited by the Office of Strategic Services arrive at Training Area B with no possessions. Upon arrival, they are issued all necessary equipment, including false identity documents. Anonymity is strictly enforced: neither their mission, location, nor true identity is to be disclosed under any circumstances. Each trainee is given a name badge displaying a fictitious forename, “Joe” or “Fred” are common choices.
If trainees are granted leave and travel to nearby towns such as Hagerstown or Gettysburg, they are warned to be vigilant and avoid revealing any personal or operational information. Even outside the perimeter of the training facility, they remain under discreet surveillance to ensure security compliance.
The Office of Strategic Services training area known as B-2 is in need of physical and weapons-training zones. The first obstacle course, constructed in early 1942 along Owens Creek, is designed with a wire stretched taut across the watercourse and a rope fixed several feet above. Trainees, carrying full field packs, are instructed to make their way across by walking the wire and using the rope for support. Many lose their footing and fall into the cold creek below.
Along the “Demolition Trail,” which runs from B-2 to B-5, small explosive charges are periodically detonated by instructors to train recruits in movement under fire. The focus is on learning to stay low and keep one’s head down during hostile conditions. Frank Gleason, a demolitions instructor stationed at B-2, later recalls that the most serious injury he witnessed was that of a young officer who fractured his jaw and lost several teeth during a training mishap on the trail.
In the open field before the mess hall at Training Area B-2, several items of training apparatus are installed for the physical development and tactical instruction of Office of Strategic Services recruits. Hand-over-hand climbing ropes hang nearby, alongside a football tackling dummy used to condition strength and coordination. A wooden platform, approximately 2.4 metres high, is erected over a sandpit and used for practising parachute landings, simulating the impact and recovery techniques required during airborne insertions.
Nearby, several large sawdust-filled pits provide safe ground for intensive close-combat training. Within these open areas, recruits practise techniques in jujitsu, wrestling, and knife fighting under the supervision of hand-to-hand combat instructors. One of the executive officers at the camp designs a distinctive training structure later named the “Trainazium.” This apparatus is constructed from a dozen mature oak trees, each with a diameter of approximately 40 to 45 centimetres. The timber is sourced from within the Catoctin Recreational Demonstration Area, a decision that draws protest from Park Manager Mike Williams, who objects to the unauthorised felling.
The Trainazium stands at 5.5 metres in height and is equipped with safety nets to catch any recruits who fall during the exercises. Its design encourages the development of balance, agility, and muscular control as trainees manoeuvre across narrow beams and confined spaces. Measuring approximately 6 metres by 6 metres, the rectangular structure occupies a prominent location in front of the B-2 mess hall.
A pistol range is also established at B-2 for weapons instruction with .45 Colt automatics and similar sidearms. The range features pop-up targets depicting enemy combatants. Trainees learn to fire from the hip using a method referred to as “Point and Shoot,” which allows for quick response and close-quarters engagement without relying on traditional sighting techniques.
Perhaps the most distinctive structure erected at B-2 is the so-called “Pistol House,” known variously as the “Mystery House,” “House of Horrors,” and “Haunted House.” At a cost of $6,000, it is the most expensive single structure built by the Office of Strategic Services at the facility. Situated at the present site of the stables in Camp Greentop, it is designed by British Special Operations experts to provide close-combat pistol training under conditions mimicking real combat environments.
Recruits, accompanied by an instructor, enter the house armed with a .45 automatic pistol. The building replicates a hostile, Nazi-occupied interior. It is kept in complete darkness, and the floors are unstable, including sudden drops that disrupt footing. Hidden loudspeakers play realistic audio, including the sounds of German speech and environmental disturbances, adding to the disorientation. As trainees move through the structure, they are confronted with life-sized Papier-Mâché figures representing enemy soldiers, often armed, forcing quick reflexes and instinctive engagement. The exercise is intended to simulate the confusion, stress, and decision-making required in real-world close-quarters operations.
Not all training at Area B is focused on weapons handling or physical conditioning. Recruits also receive instruction in essential fieldcraft and operational skills, including basic survival techniques, the use of a compass, map reading, photography, and cryptography, the art of coding and decoding secure messages. Trainees study various foreign languages and acquire skills in document forgery, stealth movement, the use of disguise, and the identification of military uniforms from both Allied and Axis forces.
A significant component of the Office of Strategic Services training programme involves psychological and mental endurance tests. Trainees are often sent on undercover assignments, referred to as “schemes”, in nearby urban centres such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Richmond. These exercises are conducted in small operational teams, each carrying forged identity papers and tasked with completing realistic espionage scenarios. The purpose is to assess the trainees’ ingenuity, adaptability, and creativity under pressure.
Not all who undertake these missions succeed. A number are intercepted by local police or military authorities and end up under arrest. In such cases, the Office of Strategic Services maintains strict operational discipline and refuses to acknowledge the individual’s affiliation, leaving the trainee to manage the consequences alone. This practice underscores the reality of the clandestine work they are preparing to undertake behind enemy lines.
Upon nearing the end of their training, operatives are subjected to final evaluations designed to test their readiness for deployment. These often involve simulated sabotage operations or intelligence collection tasks under close observation. One common final examination is known as the “graduation party.” The trainees are unaware that the event is, in fact, a test. Designed to appear informal and celebratory, the setting includes the provision of alcoholic drinks and a relaxed social environment.
The objective of the graduation party is to evaluate the psychological resilience and operational discipline of the recruits. Observers look for any signs of carelessness, indiscretion, or susceptibility to pressure. In particular, the event serves to identify individuals who might be tempted to reveal confidential information or breach security protocols in a moment of lowered guard. The entire encounter is carefully monitored to determine whether each candidate has truly internalised the principles of secrecy, self-control, and deception upon which their survival in the field may ultimately depend.