Fort Walker

In the spring of 1940, the War Plans Division of the Army General Staff developed a plan to raise a national army of four million men that would allow it to conduct simultaneous operations in both the Pacific and European theaters. In July 1940, a movement began to locate an area of approximately {{convert|60000|acre|km2}}, independent of any post, and lying somewhere between the Potomac River and the upper Chesapeake Bay.

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Marston, an artillery officer stationed in Richmond, Virginia and acting as an agent of the Third Corps Area commander, made a detailed investigation of the Bowling Green, Virginia area in September 1940. He enthusiastically recommended that the War Department procure the Caroline County site. The result was a maneuver area that contained {{convert|77332|acres|km2}} and billeting space for 74 officers and 858 enlisted personnel.

The installation was established as an army training facility on 11 June 1941, pursuant to War Department General Order No. 5. In its first year, the installation was used as a maneuver area for the II Corps and for three activated National Guard divisions from the Mid-Atlantic states. In the autumn of 1942, Fort A.P. Hill was the staging area for the headquarters and corps troops of Major General George S. Patton’s Task Force A, which was part of the Western Task Force of the Allied invasion of French North Africa. During the early years of World War II, the post continued to be a training site for corps and division-sized units. Commencing in 1944, field training for Officer Candidate School and enlisted replacements from nearby Forts Lee, Eustis, and Belvoir was conducted.

In 1952, during the Korean War, the installation was designated as Camp A.P. Hill and was a major staging area for units deploying to Europe, including the VII Corps Headquarters and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The fort was the major center for the Engineer Officer Candidate School, training students from Fort Belvoir during the Vietnam War.

Construction of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps{{Cite web|url=https://goordnance.army.mil/|title=U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and School|website=goordnance.army.mil}} Explosive Ordnance Disposal training center was completed in July 2011, with the first day of class being 17 October 2011. It is named after Captain Jason McMahon, who died in Afghanistan in 2010.{{cite web|title=Fort A.P. Hill Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training Center honors a fallen hero|date=8 November 2013 |url=https://www.army.mil/article/114630/Fort_A_P__Hill_Explosive_Ordnance_Disposal_Training_Center_honors_a_fallen_hero/|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=30 September 2014}} The center provides explosive ordnance disposal advanced technical training and tactical skills education for both officer and enlisted.

File:160727-D-DB155-034 (28081484524).jpg station]]

The U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group{{Cite web|url=https://www.awg.army.mil/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050810013006/http://www.awg.army.mil/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 August 2005|title=Army Asymmetric Warfare Group|website=www.awg.army.mil}} officially opened its $90.1 million Asymmetric Warfare Training Center on 24 January 2014. The {{convert|300|acre|adj=on}} training complex includes a headquarters, barracks, administrative, training and maintenance facilities, an urban training area, a {{convert|12|mile|adj=on}} mobility range, an {{convert|800|m|adj=on}} known distance range, a light demolitions range and an indoor shooting range.{{cite web|title=Asymmetric Warfare Training Center Opens at Fort A.P. Hill|date=24 January 2014 |url=http://www.army.mil/article/118796/Asymmetric_Warfare_Training_Center_opens_at_Fort_A_P__Hill/|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=2 October 2014}} This center focuses on providing joint and combined arms training. All branches of the U.S. Armed Forces train at the installation, and the installation has also hosted training of foreign allies, ranging from providing support for mobilizations to helping units train for deployment.

File:Image of Lieutenant General A.P. Hill.jpg, after whom the fort was formerly named]]

The installation was named for Virginia native and Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill.{{cite web|title=Fort A.P. Hill History|url=http://www.aphill.army.mil/history.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010619002446/http://www.aphill.army.mil/history.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 June 2001|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=18 March 2013}} Fort A.P. Hill was one of the U.S. Army installations named for Confederate soldiers to be recommended for renaming by The Naming Commission.{{cite news|last=Levenson|first=Michael|title=These Are the 10 U.S. Army Installations Named for Confederates|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/military-bases-confederates.html|access-date=14 June 2020|newspaper=New York Times|date=11 June 2020}} Their recommendation was that the post be renamed Fort Walker, after American abolitionist and Civil War surgeon Mary Edwards Walker.The Naming Commission (Aug 2022) [https://www.thenamingcommission.gov/faqs Recommendation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009095243/https://www.thenamingcommission.gov/faqs |date=9 October 2022 }} On 5 January 2023 William A. LaPlante, US under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment (USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.[https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3260496/pentagon-press-secretary-air-force-brig-gen-pat-ryder-holds-an-on-camera-press/ (5 January 2023) Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds an On-Camera Press Briefing] The post was redesignated Fort Walker on 25 August 2023.Robert Philpot [https://publicaffairs-sme.com/FamilyServingFamily/2023/03/22/exchange-teams-prepare-for-big-changes-as-9-army-posts-get-new-names/ (22 Mar 2023) Exchange Teams Prepare for Big Changes as 9 Army Posts Get New Names]Robert Philpot [https://publicaffairs-sme.com/FamilyServingFamily/2023/08/25/installation-renamings-the-story-of-dr-mary-walker-the-only-female-medal-of-honor-recipient/ (25 Aug 2023) Installation Renamings: The Story of Dr. Mary Walker, the Only Female Medal of Honor Recipient]

On 12 June 2024 the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) C5ISR demonstrated anti-mine capabilities during a robotic breaching exercise at Fort Walker.Chris Hall, Fort Walker Public Affairs Office [https://www.army.mil/article/277439/fort_walker_hosts_collaborative_anti_mine_robotic_breaching_exercise (20 Jun 2024) Fort Walker hosts collaborative anti-mine, robotic breaching exercise]

The Fort Walker garrison currently includes;{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/walker|title=U.S. Army Fort Walker|website=www.army.mil|language=en|access-date=2 September 2023}}

• Directorate of Emergency Services
• Directorate of Family and MWR
• Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security
• Regional Training Support Center
• Plans, Analysis and Integration Office
• Directorate of Public Works
• Directorate of Resource Management
• Installation Safety Office
• Sustainable Range Program

File:U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), conduct a 12-mile road march during Expert Infantryman Badge testing at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., March 22, 2013 130322-A-KF670-299.jpg

It is used year-round for military training of both active and reserve troops of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force, as well as Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets and other government agencies including the Departments of State and Interior, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and federal, state, and local security and law enforcement agencies.

{{Clear}}

File:Fort A.P Hill during 2010 Boy Scout Jamboree.jpg

File:Defense.gov News Photo 100728-D-7203C-014 - Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates addresses an audience of more than 45000 during the Boy Scouts of America 2010 National Scout Jamboree at.jpg

The installation hosted the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree in 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2010. The number of participants each time included approximately 35,000 Boy Scouts and some 250,000 visitors. In 2013, the Boy Scouts moved the Jamboree to its new permanent home at Summit Bechtel Reserve high adventure camp in Fayette County, West Virginia.

{{Clear}}

An episode of What on Earth?, first shown on Discovery Channel as S8 E1 (8/27/20), features the site in an episode called "Zombietown USA".{{cite web |title=Zombietown USA |url=https://www.discovery.com/shows/what-on-earth/episodes/zombietown-usa |website=Discovery |publisher=Warner Bros. |access-date=6 March 2023}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Fort Walker}}

• [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA544134/ Wealthy in Heart: Oral History of Life Before Fort A.P. Hill]
• [https://home.army.mil/walker/index.php/about/history History of Fort Walker page]

{{US Army navbox}}

{{VAMilitary}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Caroline County, Virginia

Walker

Walker

Walker

Category:Buildings and structures in Caroline County, Virginia

Walker

Category:1941 establishments in Virginia