Fort Knox
Fort Knox is the home of the US Army Armor Center and School. The Armor Center leads the Army in many aspects of development of the Future Force. Fort Knox's Unit of Action Maneuver Battle Lab is the hub for coordination of requirements for Army and Joint fighting capabilities in the future. The Battle Lab reaches across the Department of Defense and America's industry bringing national and international attention to its unique experimentation and simulations capabilities.
Located between Louisville and Elizabethtown, it is also home to several other Department of Defense and Army organizations. Fort Knox is known around the world for its premier training capabilities for the Mounted Force, including advanced simulation operations. Every Armor and Cavalry officer,
Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and enlisted soldier in the US Army, plus every US Marine Corps tank crewman learns his skill at the Home of Armor and Cavalry. Drill Sergeants and Officer and NCO instructors train over 20,000 student Soldiers, Marines, and Allies each year.
Fort Knox' Zussman Urban Combat training area is one of the Army's most realistic sites for Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT). Special Operations Forces from every service in the Department of Defense, train here, as well as law enforcement agencies, and first response teams. Fort Knox is a premier training site for reserve component units, ROTC and Military Academy cadets, and Allied units. In the last year over 93,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, and Allies came to Fort Knox to train and prepare for assigned missions.
Fort Knox is a Power Support Platform supporting mobilization and demobilization for over 10,000 reserve component soldiers in the past year while providing medical and dental support to over 15,000 more soldiers at Camp Atterbury Indiana, and Fort McCoy Wisconsin.
The Armor Center is also home to Headquarters United States Army Recruiting Command (USAREC), managing 7,300 recruiters in 1,550 offices nationwide and overseas, and charged with enlisting every new soldier into the US Army each year. USAREC directs a large national marketing effort to attract quality young men and women into The Army of One.
Other organizations on post include the Headquarters, Eastern Region US Army Cadet Command with responsibility for ROTC operations at universities, colleges and high schools east of the Mississippi River; the 4th Brigade 85th Division, with responsibility for training reserve component units in the eastern US from New York to Puerto Rico; and USAREC's Third Recruiting Brigade. Several smaller organizations such as the Test and Evaluation Detachment, and Explosives Ordnance Detachment provide required support to the region. The Patton Museum and the US Bullion Depository are also located there, brining thousands of visitors to the area each year.
Fort Knox has a footprint of 109,000 acres, and currently provides employment for a workforce of nearly 21,000 military and civilians. The daytime population of the post is 28,000 (including family members), and under that definition would make Fort Knox the seventh largest city in The Commonwealth. The "city" has several housing areas, an airfield, a hospital, and a school system with Pre-K through high school, banks, gas stations, a golf course, gymnasiums, swimming pools, a large Post Exchange (department store), commissary (grocery store), transient lodging, and a beverage store. A fire department and Military Police unit provides public safety and services. Fort Knox is a major customer of Kentucky utilities buying electricity, water, sewer, services for offices and homes on post. Fort Knox is the support base for nearly 100,000 retirees and their family members in a five state area.
The total payroll (including payments to military retirees in the vicinity) and contracts generated by activities at the base is over $600 million annually. The contracted work varies across the economic spectrum, from construction projects to instruction, to writing doctrine and field manuals, to food service and lawn mowing to educational services, electronic systems, and marketing.
While the post's population has drawn down along with Army downsizing, the level of activity and contribution to the Army and nation have not. Fort Knox hosted and ran the Army's Platform Performance Demonstration, and Stryker Initial Operational Test supporting the Army's development and fielding of the Stryker Brigades. The Battle Lab brings senior military and industry leaders to Fort Knox daily to help guide the effort toward the Future Force. Innovations in training lead the Army in preparing soldiers for their first unit assignment.
Recent investments bode well for future missions. There is a commitment for 178 new family quarters for senior NCOs. A new Reserve Component Center is nearly complete and revamped access gates have improved traffic flow and increased security. Consolidated and modernized dining facilities will increase throughput and reduce overhead and staffing requirements. The WILCOX MultiPurpose Range Complex will add a large, modern training area to support maneuver and live fire training. All of these projects take advantage of local contracts for labor, materials, and equipment and will pump an estimated $44 Million into the local economy during FY02-03. Commitment for a new StarBase Barracks Complex for initial entry training will pump an estimated $35 Million into the local economy during FY05-07.
Fort Knox has the capability for expansion in units and missions, including a significant role in Homeland Security. The installation enjoys a strong partnership with surrounding communities based on mutual support and respect.
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