Yuma Test Center Commander Kevin Hicks Keynotes 30th Camp Bouse Commemoration

Lt. Col. Kevin Hicks, commander of the U.S. Army Yuma Test Center, served as keynote speaker at the 30th annual Camp Bouse Commemoration in Bouse, La Paz County, on Feb. 14, 2026, and emphasized Yuma Test Center’s newly designated role as the primary interagency Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems test and training range.

“I’m proud that the work done at Yuma Test Center today is at the forefront of current Army modernization efforts,” Hicks said. “The Secretary of War recently designated Yuma Test Center as the primary, dedicated interagency Counter-small Unmanned Aerial Systems test and training range. It is an effort that I feel is in keeping with the spirit of each generation of Soldiers that has served, from those of ‘The Greatest Generation’ who saved the world during World War II, to all that served in the following decades.”

Hicks tied the designation to broader force structure changes that followed the establishment of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 last August by Pete Hegseth, which tapped Yuma Test Center to serve as the effort’s home base for testing and training. Under that operational posture, YTC will primarily focus on Class I and II small UAS, while larger Class III through V systems will continue to be tested primarily at White Sands Missile Range, described as Yuma Proving Ground’s larger sister installation.

Hicks assumed command of Yuma Test Center on July 18, 2024, during a change-of-command ceremony at Yuma Proving Ground where outgoing commander Lt. Col. Shane Dering relinquished command. YPG Commander Col. John Nelson and Airborne Test Force Master Sgt. Donald Bullock participated in the ceremonial passing of the guidon, a moment captured by Ana Henderson in a DVIDS photo dated 07.18.2024 (Story ID 476571, web views 189).

Local coverage has noted Hicks is of Texas and that YTC functions as Yuma Proving Ground’s extreme hot weather testing center, testing equipment for the Department of Defense and allied partners. The commemoration highlighted Camp Bouse’s World War II heritage; YTC was described at the ceremony as the last active Army installation within the Arizona Desert Maneuver Area that once included Camp Bouse.

Yuma Proving Ground’s social media posts about the ceremony logged 154 reactions, 6 comments and 9 shares on Facebook and echoed on Instagram. The original record supplied for this report included a truncated sentence fragment reading “The commemorat” and the remainder of that original report is not available in the provided materials.