Fort Gordon
Encyclopedia
Fort Gordon, formerly known as Camp Gordon, is a United States Army
installation established in 1917. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps
and Signal Center and was once the home of "The Provost Marshal General School" (Military Police). The fort is located in Richmond
, Jefferson
, McDuffie
, and Columbia
counties, Georgia
. The main component of the post is the Advanced Individual Training for Signal Corps military occupational specialities. In 1966–68 the Army's Signal Officer Candidate School
(located at Fort Monmouth
during World War II and the Korean War
) graduated over 2,200 Signal officers. Signals Intelligence has become more visible and comprises more and more of the fort's duties.
Fort Gordon and the Signal Center is commanded by Major General Alan Lynn
.
. Chamblee, northeast of Atlanta, was selected for one of the state's largest army cantonments. It was named Camp Gordon in honor of John Brown Gordon
, who was a major general in the Confederate army, a Georgia governor, a U.S. senator, and a businessman. The camp opened in July 1917, becoming a training site and home of the famous Eighty-second All-American Division. The division was composed of men from several different states, but men from Georgia made up almost half its number.
that had been selected several months earlier. A groundbreaking and flag-raising ceremony took place in October. In response to the attack on Pearl Harbor
Colonel Herbert W. Schmidt, camp commander, moved his small staff from his temporary office in the Augusta
post office building to the unfinished headquarters building at Camp Gordon on December 9, 1941 and the 4th Infantry Division began to establish operations there.
The post was home to three divisions during the war: the 4th Infantry, the 26th Infantry, and the 10th Armored. From October 1943 to January 1945 Camp Gordon served as an internment camp for foreign prisoners of war. From May 1945 until April 1946 the U.S. Army Personnel and Separation Center processed nearly 86,000 personnel for discharge from the Army.
On March 21, 1956, the post was renamed Fort Gordon.
During the 1950s through the 1970s Fort Gordon served as a basic-training facility. It also provided advanced individual training for troops. Since June 1985 Fort Gordon has housed the U.S. Signal Corps, the branch of the U.S. Army responsible for providing and maintaining information systems and communication networks. The Signal Corps training center's primary purpose is to conduct specialized instruction for all Signal Corps military and civilian personnel.
During the Vietnam War, Fort Gordon was home to Camp Crocket, an area of the post conducting 8-week infantry training courses for soldiers in line to attend Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then be assigned to Airborne units in Vietnam. The location closed as the war ended and today the site is overgrown with pine trees.
school itself is the primary function, the post is home to the following active-duty tenant units:
The post also hosts a joint-service command, National Security Agency
/Central Security Service
Georgia, formerly known as the Gordon Regional Security Operations Center. It is a SIGINT
collection center for a geographic area including the Middle East
. The Army's 706th MI Group works there alongside units from the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, Naval Network Warfare Command
(Navy Information Operations Command, Georgia), Marine Corps Intelligence Activity
as well as civilians from the National Security Agency (NSA).
Considered a mission partner on Fort Gordon is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center
(DDEAMC), home of the Southeast Regional Medical Command (SERMC) as well as a dental laboratory. The facility treats active duty military and their families, as well as many of the military retiree community in the Central Savannah River Area
. Under SERMC, the hospital is responsible for military hospital care from Kentucky
to Puerto Rico
.
Fort Gordon has approximately 30,000 military and civilian employees and currently has an estimated $1.1 billion economic impact on the Augusta-Richmond County economy.
Between 1966 and 68, approximately 2,200 Signal Officers were trained at Fort Gordon's Signal Officer Candidate School (OCS), before all US Army branch OCSs were merged with the Infantry OCS
at Fort Benning
, Georgia.
During the Vietnam War
, Ft. Gordon was also a training location for Military Police Corps in the Brems Barracks region of the fort, which was also later used in the 1980s for training radioteletype
operators.
33°24′48"N 82°8′7"W
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
installation established in 1917. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps
United States Army Signal Corps
The United States Army Signal Corps develops, tests, provides, and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of United States Army Major Albert J. Myer, and has had an important role from...
and Signal Center and was once the home of "The Provost Marshal General School" (Military Police). The fort is located in Richmond
Richmond County, Georgia
Richmond County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the original counties of Georgia, created February 5, 1777. As of 2010, the population was 200,549. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 199,486....
, Jefferson
Jefferson County, Georgia
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on February 20, 1796. As of 2000, the population was 17,266. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 16,454...
, McDuffie
McDuffie County, Georgia
McDuffie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on October 18, 1870. As of 2000, the population was 21,231. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 21,551. The county seat is Thomson....
, and Columbia
Columbia County, Georgia
Columbia County is a county located in the US state of Georgia along the Savannah River. As of 2010 the population was 124,054 a growth of 39% from the 2000 census figure of 89,288. The de jure county seat is Appling. Appling is an unincorporated area, making Columbia one of only three counties...
counties, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The main component of the post is the Advanced Individual Training for Signal Corps military occupational specialities. In 1966–68 the Army's Signal Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School (U.S. Army)
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School , located at Fort Benning, Georgia, provides training to become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army...
(located at Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth
Fort Monmouth was an installation of the Department of the Army in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The post is surrounded by the communities of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, New Jersey, and is located about 5 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The post covers nearly of land, from the Shrewsbury...
during World War II and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
) graduated over 2,200 Signal officers. Signals Intelligence has become more visible and comprises more and more of the fort's duties.
Fort Gordon and the Signal Center is commanded by Major General Alan Lynn
Alan R. Lynn
U.S. Army Major General Alan R. Lynn is the Commanding General, U.S. Army Signal Center of Excellence , the Chief of Signal for the United States Army Signal Corps, and the Senior Mission Commander for Fort Gordon, Georgia.- Education :...
.
World War I era
Georgia established many war-training camps during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Chamblee, northeast of Atlanta, was selected for one of the state's largest army cantonments. It was named Camp Gordon in honor of John Brown Gordon
John Brown Gordon
John Brown Gordon was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted Confederate generals during the American Civil War. After the war, he was a strong opponent of Reconstruction and is thought by some to have been the titular leader of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia during the late 1860s. A member of the...
, who was a major general in the Confederate army, a Georgia governor, a U.S. senator, and a businessman. The camp opened in July 1917, becoming a training site and home of the famous Eighty-second All-American Division. The division was composed of men from several different states, but men from Georgia made up almost half its number.
World War II era
Camp Gordon was approved for reconstruction in July 1941. The U.S. War Department approved a contract to construct facilities on a new training area in Richmond County, GeorgiaRichmond County, Georgia
Richmond County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is one of the original counties of Georgia, created February 5, 1777. As of 2010, the population was 200,549. The 2007 Census Estimate showed a population of 199,486....
that had been selected several months earlier. A groundbreaking and flag-raising ceremony took place in October. In response to the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
Colonel Herbert W. Schmidt, camp commander, moved his small staff from his temporary office in the Augusta
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
post office building to the unfinished headquarters building at Camp Gordon on December 9, 1941 and the 4th Infantry Division began to establish operations there.
The post was home to three divisions during the war: the 4th Infantry, the 26th Infantry, and the 10th Armored. From October 1943 to January 1945 Camp Gordon served as an internment camp for foreign prisoners of war. From May 1945 until April 1946 the U.S. Army Personnel and Separation Center processed nearly 86,000 personnel for discharge from the Army.
Post World War II
From early 1946 to June 1947, the U.S. Army Disciplinary Barracks for convicted criminals was located at Camp Gordon, and the installation was scheduled for deactivation. In September 1948 the Army relocated the Military Police School from Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, to Camp Gordon, and in October 1948 a Signal Corps training center was activated.On March 21, 1956, the post was renamed Fort Gordon.
During the 1950s through the 1970s Fort Gordon served as a basic-training facility. It also provided advanced individual training for troops. Since June 1985 Fort Gordon has housed the U.S. Signal Corps, the branch of the U.S. Army responsible for providing and maintaining information systems and communication networks. The Signal Corps training center's primary purpose is to conduct specialized instruction for all Signal Corps military and civilian personnel.
During the Vietnam War, Fort Gordon was home to Camp Crocket, an area of the post conducting 8-week infantry training courses for soldiers in line to attend Airborne training at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then be assigned to Airborne units in Vietnam. The location closed as the war ended and today the site is overgrown with pine trees.
Active-duty units and facilities
Fort Gordon's technical name is the U.S. Army Signal Center & Fort Gordon, or USASCFG. While the TRADOCUnited States Army Training and Doctrine Command
Established 1 July 1973, the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command is an army command of the United States Army headquartered at Fort Eustis, Virginia. It is charged with overseeing training of Army forces, the development of operational doctrine, and the development and procurement of...
school itself is the primary function, the post is home to the following active-duty tenant units:
- 15th Regimental Signal Brigade15th Regimental Signal BrigadeThe 15th Signal Brigade is an active duty unit of the United States Army, based at Fort Gordon. Its mission is to train soldiers who have completed basic training in their communications-related Military Occupational Speciality before they report to their first assignment.Units in the 15th Signal...
, home to the 73d Ordnance (TRADOC), 369th Signal (TRADOC), 447th Signal (TRADOC)Information technology specialistInformation Technology Specialist or lnformation Systems Operator-Analyst is a Military Occupational Specialty in the United States Army...
and 551st Signal Battalion551st Signal Battalion (United States)The 551st Signal Battalion is an active duty unit of the United States Army, housed on Fort Gordon. The MACOM for the 551st is and they fall directly under the 15th Regimental Signal Brigade.The 551st trains the following Signal Corps MOSs...
s. - 35th Signal Brigade35th Signal Brigade (United States)The 35th Signal Brigade is the largest signal unit in the world and was the only airborne signal brigade in the United States Army. The brigade was previously based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and provided rapidly deployable force projection signal support, and rapid communications for Army,...
, home to the 63d Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 67th and 50th Signal Battalion. 50th Signal Battalion is current on detached duty to Fort Bragg, NC (formerly the 93rd Signal Brigade) - 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance WingThe 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing is headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Va..-Overview:The 480th ISR Wing is the Air Force leader in globally networked ISR operations...
- 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, home to Task Force Lightning and the 202nd and 297th MI Battalions
- 35th Military Police Detachment
- 706th Military Intelligence Group, home of the 707th MI Battalion
The post also hosts a joint-service command, National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
/Central Security Service
Central Security Service
The Central Security Service is an agency of the United States Department of Defense, established in 1972 by a Presidential Directive to promote full partnership between the National Security Agency and the Service Cryptologic Elements of the United States Armed Forces.-Organization:The blue...
Georgia, formerly known as the Gordon Regional Security Operations Center. It is a SIGINT
SIGINT
Signals intelligence is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people , whether involving electronic signals not directly used in communication , or combinations of the two...
collection center for a geographic area including the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. The Army's 706th MI Group works there alongside units from the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, Naval Network Warfare Command
Naval Network Warfare Command
Naval Network Warfare Command is the US Navy's information operations, intelligence, networks and space unit. NETWARCOM is charged with operating a secure naval network that enables information operations...
(Navy Information Operations Command, Georgia), Marine Corps Intelligence Activity
Marine Corps Intelligence Activity
The Marine Corps Intelligence Activity , is a field activity of Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps and a member of both the Defense Intelligence Enterprise and the United States Intelligence Community...
as well as civilians from the National Security Agency (NSA).
Considered a mission partner on Fort Gordon is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center
Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center
The Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, a 300-bed hospital, is based at Fort Gordon, located near Augusta, Georgia and serves as the headquarters of the Army's Southeast Regional Medical Command, or SERMC...
(DDEAMC), home of the Southeast Regional Medical Command (SERMC) as well as a dental laboratory. The facility treats active duty military and their families, as well as many of the military retiree community in the Central Savannah River Area
Central Savannah River Area
The Central Savannah River Area is a 13-county region in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is also considered to include five to eight counties in South Carolina. The term was coined in 1950 by C.C. McCollum, the winner of a $250 contest held by The Augusta Chronicle to generate the best name for the...
. Under SERMC, the hospital is responsible for military hospital care from Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Fort Gordon has approximately 30,000 military and civilian employees and currently has an estimated $1.1 billion economic impact on the Augusta-Richmond County economy.
Between 1966 and 68, approximately 2,200 Signal Officers were trained at Fort Gordon's Signal Officer Candidate School (OCS), before all US Army branch OCSs were merged with the Infantry OCS
Officer Candidate School (U.S. Army)
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School , located at Fort Benning, Georgia, provides training to become a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army...
at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia.
During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, Ft. Gordon was also a training location for Military Police Corps in the Brems Barracks region of the fort, which was also later used in the 1980s for training radioteletype
Radioteletype
Radioteletype is a telecommunications system consisting originally of two or more electromechanical teleprinters in different locations, later superseded by personal computers running software to emulate teleprinters, connected by radio rather than a wired link.The term radioteletype is used to...
operators.
External links
- Fort Gordon Pictorial History Book
- Fort Gordon
- WW1 account of Life at Camp Gordon"Letters from Ward B Scripture of the 328th Infantry to his Mother during WW1"
- "NSA Seeks to Pour Hundreds of Millions Into Surveillance Infrastructure," The Peacock Report, April 20, 2006
- Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center
- CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon - Group that sought to keep Fort Gordon open during the 2005 Base Realignment and ClosureBase Realignment and ClosureBase Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
round - U.S. Army Signal Corps OCS Association
- Fort Gordon Directorate of Morale, Welfare and Recreation
- New Georgia Encyclopedia information
- Battle Command Battle Lab
33°24′48"N 82°8′7"W