Captieux Ammo Depot located south of Bordeaux, France, is USAREUR Com Z's southern most post. It is also one of the largest installations in all of USAREUR, covering approximately 23,000 acres in a wooded section near Captieux. It includes a 120-mile road network and 117 miles of telephone lines.

Like most of Com Z's depots, it was established in the early 1950s as the new line of communications was created through France. First came the depot warehouses, followed by troop facilities and finally housing units (in two nearby towns, Bazas and Captieux) for the depot families. (Some families live "on the economy.")

Captieux is the receiving point for ammunition arriving from the US. Most of the ammo comes through Bassens, a Com Z port near Bordeaux. From there the ammo is shipped by rail to the Captieux depot for storage. The ammo is stored in thousands of storage huts.

When the first elements of Army troops (7711th Trans Bn) arrived at the Captieux facility in the Fall of 1950 to establish the depot, they found a collection of bombed-out barracks and other buildings that had previously served as a French Air Force training and operation station in WWII. Ammunition arrived almost immediately and was stored in plasterboard and "filloid" huts, usually mounted on wooden planking. A rewarehousing program later placed the ammo on pierced steel planking, high above ground.

Recent rehabilitation and construction efforts have added a gym, new dependent school, movie theater, bowling alley, EM Club and other rec and athletic facilities.

Future plans call for the addition of more warehouses, a community building, another rail spur and concrete igloos to replace the current storage hutments.