Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell | |
---|---|
Sabalauski Air Assault School Blanchfield Army Community Hospital NCO Academy |
Fort Campbell is a
History
The site for Mid-Campbell was selected on September 9, 1941, and the Title I Survey was completed November 15, 1941, coincidentally the same time the Japanese Imperial Fleet was leaving Japanese home waters for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Construction of Camp Campbell began on January 12, 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 (414 km2), and billets for 2,422 officers and 45,198 enlisted personnel.
Due to its close proximity to Nashville, the War Department on March 7, 1941, designated Tennessee as the official address of the new camp. This caused a great deal of confusion. While the headquarters and a great majority of the base's acreage was in Tennessee, the base's post office was in Kentucky. After many months of mail delivery problems, Colonel Guy W. Chipman requested that the address be changed to Camp Campbell, Kentucky. The War Department officially changed the address on September 23, 1942.
Early in the summer of 1942, the post's initial cadre, one
In the spring of 1949, the
By April 1950, the post had evolved from a wartime training camp to a permanent installation and was renamed Fort Campbell.
From 1950 to 1962, the post operated an Airborne Course which trained nearly 30,000 soldiers as paratroopers before its inactivation.
On September 21, 1956, Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker and the Army Chief of Staff, General Maxwell D. Taylor, presented the colors of the 101st Airborne Division to MG T.L. Sherbourne, the first commander of the new, previously experimental, ROTAD (Reorganization Of The Airborne Division) division. This ceremony officially reactivated 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 Training Center operated until April 15, 1972, when it was deactivated.
The 1st Brigade was sent for duty in Vietnam in July 1965. Soon thereafter, upon the escalation of hostilities in Southeast Asia, the rest of the division arrived. Also in response to the military buildup, the 6th Infantry Division was reactivated at Fort Campbell on November 24, 1966, and inactivated July 25, 1968.
In September 1971, the 173rd Airborne Brigade returned to Fort Campbell and conducted its official homecoming ceremonies, which were presided over by Secretary of Defense
Fort Campbell had a children's theatre program until it closed down in 1983.
On December 12, 1985,
As a result of the
Criminal incidents
On July 5, 1999, Private First Class
On October 13, 2005, Fort Campbell made international headlines when Private Nicholas Mikel opened fire on a group of soldiers training at the base. Private Mikel was arrested soon thereafter and charged with attempted murder. In April 2006 he was convicted of attempted premeditated murder and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment.[7]
2011 tornado
Early on April 26, 2011, a strong tornado struck the Campbell Army Airfield at Fort Campbell, destroying one building and causing heavy damage to several others, all of which were large and well-constructed. Large doors were blown in on these buildings as well. Several other smaller buildings received minor to major damage, and numerous heavy vehicles were damaged, with at least three being flipped over. Immediately north of the airfield, across farmland, several dozen trees were downed, two barns were heavily damaged, three power poles were blown down, and some shingles were blown off of a house. The tornado was rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.[8]
2023 Helicopter Training Crash
Nine soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division were killed during a helicopter training on March 29, 2023. Happening around 10 p.m. local time, two HH-60 Black Hawk medical evacuation aircraft crashed into each other, while pilots were using night vision goggles. Their helicopters crashed west of Fort Campbell in a partially wooded field.[9]
Operations and taxation
The
Kentucky has limited rights to taxation: Individuals performing services on the Kentucky portion of Fort Campbell only pay taxes to the state where they are residents, refer to US Code Title 4, Chapter 4, §115. Tennessee has no state income tax on wages but a higher retail sales tax than Kentucky.[citation needed]
Fort Campbell Parachute Demonstration Team "Screaming Eagles"
The Fort Campbell parachute demonstration team was established in 1958 during the infancy of precision
The "Screaming Eagles" perform more than 60 parachute demonstrations each year in front of an average viewing audience of 5,000 spectators. The team has a diverse background of Army
Tenant units
- 101st Airborne Division
- 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment
- 5th Special Forces Group
- EOD)
- 302nd Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Battalion (IEW)
- 531st Hospital Center
- 502nd Military Police Battalion (CID)
- Campbell Army Airfield (USAF units)
Other facilities include Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Sabalauski Air Assault School and the SSG John W. Kreckel NCO Academy.
Education
Residents are zoned to Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools.[10][11]
Elementary schools are as follows:[12]
- Barsanti Elementary School (Drennan/New Drennan, Gardner Hills, and Woodlands)
- Barkley Elementary School (Barker Court, LaPointe Village, McAuliffe Park, New Hammond Heights, Summers Park, Stryker Village, Taylor Village, Turner Loop, Zahn Park, and part of Hammond Heights)
- Lucas Elementary School (Cole Park, Harper Village, Lee Park, and Werner Park)
- Marshall Elementary School (Pierce Village and a portion of Hammond Heights)
Hammond Heights is divided among several elementary schools: Barkley and Marshall schools as well as Collins, Gorgas, and Hollis elementary schools.[13]
Mahaffey Middle School and Wassom Middle School serve separate areas. Mahaffey Middle's boundary includes Cole Park, Drennan Park, Gardner Hills, Harper Village, New Drennan, Stryker Village, Turner Loop, Werner Park, and Woodlands. Wassom's boundary includes Barker Court, Hammond Heights, LaPointe, Lee Park, McAuliffe Park, New Hammond Heights, Pierce Village, Summer Park, Taylor Village, and Zahn Park.[12]
All residents of Fort Campbell are zoned to
The high school first opened in 1962.[14] The current high school building was dedicated in 2018.[15] Of the students, the percentage who attend for all four years total at FCHS is 10.[14]
There were plans for a new middle school, but in 2019 the funds were instead designated for a wall along the
See also
- 502nd Infantry Regiment (United States)
- Fort Campbell North, Kentucky (for information on the census-designated place)
- Sergeant Hasan Akbar
- Campbell Army Airfield
- Sabre Army Heliport
- 101st Airborne Division
- 101st Combat Aviation Brigade
- 3rd Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment
References
- ^ A History of Fort Campbell, Kentucky Archived 2007-02-05 at the Wayback Machine, 14 August 2006. Retrieved 21 March 2007.
- ^ "Headquarters and Headquarters Company 173d Airborne Brigade Lineage". Archived from the original on 19 June 2008.
- ^ "Headquarters and Headquarters Company 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division". History.army.mil. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ Devastating Tornadoes in Tennessee Displace 250 Army Families at Fort Campbell, Service Says, Steve Beynon, Military.com, 2023-12-11
- ^ Thomas Hackett. The Execution of Private Barry Winchell: The Real Story Behind the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Murder. Rolling Stone, 2 March 2000. At Archive.org.
- ^ Staff report (January 9, 2000). Soldier Pleads Guilty In Gay Slaying Case. New York Times
- ^ DeBary soldier gets 25 years in firing at troops: At a court-martial, the Army private said he had been trying to kill a sergeant, Orlando Sentinel, April 21, 2006 [dead link]
- ^ Kentucky Event Report: EF3 Tornado. National Climatic Data Center (Report). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
- ^ "9 soldiers killed in Army helicopter training crash in Kentucky". NBC News. Retrieved 2023-03-30.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - Text list- "Fort Campbell Dependent Schools" refers to DoDEA schools.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2022-07-05. - Text list- "Fort Campbell Schools" refers to DoDEA schools.
- ^ a b c "Fort Campbell Attendance Areas for SY 2016-17" (PDF). Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- ^ "Zoning for Hammond Heights" (PDF). Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
- ^ a b "Ft. Campbell HS: About Our School". Department of Defense Education Activity. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
- US Army Corps of Engineers. Fort Campbell Courier. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
- American School and University. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
External links
- Fort Campbell Home Page - official site
- Kneeling Soldier statue in front of Soldier's Chapel by Enoch Tanner Wickham
- Fort Campbell at Curlie