Fort Campbell, Kentucky

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fort Campbell
Ten miles northwest of downtown Clarksville, Tennessee and ten miles south of Hopkinsville, Kentucky
Type	Military Base
Built	1941
In use	1941-Present
Controlled by	United States

Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee and is home to the 101st Airborne Division.

The fort is named in honor of BG William Bowen Campbell, the last Whig Governor of Tennessee. He was elected Colonel of the First Tennessee Volunteers, the "Bloody First," and is remembered in history as he led his regiment in the storming of Monterey in 1846 with the cry, "Boys, Follow Me!"

The site was selected on July 16, 1941, with construction beginning February 4, 1942. Within a year, the reservation designated as Camp Campbell was developed to accommodate one armored division and various support troops, with a total size of 102,414 Acres, and billets for 2,422 officers and 45,198 enlisted personnel.

Early in the summer of 1942, the post's initial cadre, one officer and 19 enlisted men, arrived from Fort Knox, Ky. From that time until the end of World War II, Camp Campbell was the training ground for the 12th, 14th and 20th Armored divisions, Headquarters IV Armored Corps and the 26th Infantry Division.

In the spring of 1949, the 11th Airborne Division arrived at Campbell following occupation duty in Japan. The 11th was in residence there until early 1956. In April 1950, the post became a permanent installation and was redesignated Fort Campbell.

On September 21, 1956, Secretary of the Army Wilbur M. Bruckner and the Army Chief of Staff, GEN. Maxwell D. Taylor, presented the colors of the 101st Airborne Division to MG T.L. Sherbourne, the first commander of the new ROTAD airborne division. This was the official ceremony reactivating the famed "Screaming Eagles" of World War II.

On May 2, 1966, Third Army General Order 161 directed the activation of a Basic Combat Training Center at Fort Campbell. On July 6, barely two months after its activation, Fort Campbell's Army Training Center received its first 220 newly inducted soldiers. Basic Combat Training began on schedule July 11 with a full complement of 1,100 trainees.

The 1st Brigade was sent for duty in Vietnam in July 1965. After the war escalated, the rest of the division joined the "Always First Brigade." The 6th Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Campbell on November 24, 1966, and inactivated July 25, 1968.

On August 18, 1969, the U.S. Army Training Center and headquarters, Fort Campbell, was combined.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade got its official homecoming ceremonies September 2, 1971, welcomed by Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. The 173rd was redesignated as the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile).

On April 6, 1972, the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) was officially welcomed back to its home station in ceremonies attended by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and GEN William C. Westmoreland, Army Chief of Staff.

On April 15, 1972, the U.S. Army Training Center was inactivated.

On October 13, 2005, Fort Campbell made international headlines when Pvt. Nicholas Mikel opened fire on fellow soldiers.

Changes to the 101st Airborne are intended to make the Army more capable to deal with today's threats. The post is expecting another 2,000 troops, with the addition of another brigade, bringing the total active-duty population of Fort Campbell to around 28,000.

The commanding general of both Fort Campbell and 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) is currently Major General Jeffrey J. Schloesser. The post's current garrision commander is Colonel Fredrick Swope.