Fort Greely, AK Installation Guide

Army Community Services, ATTN: APVR-GPA-CF, Unit 45807, APO AP 96508-5807

Base Realignment: Due to the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Committee decisions, Fort Greely has been designated for realignment. The process has begun and will be completed no later than July 2001. Starting in April 1999 Northern Warfare Training Center soldiers will be stationed at Ft. Wainwright. Their families will be housed at Ft. Wainwright. The soldiers will be attached and work at Ft. Greely. Ft. Wainwright is 100 miles north of Ft. Greely so there will be a separation during the training missions.

After July 1999, there will no longer be "accompanied" tours at Ft. Greely as the post will be in the process of phasing down personnel, services and programs to meet the July 2001 BRAC directed realignment completion date. If you are being assigned to Ft. Greely after July 1999 and you are contemplating bringing your family with you to live on the economy in Delta Junction you need to check things out carefully. As this will be considered an unaccompanied tour the Army will not pay to bring your family with you.

Fort Greely is located in a picturesque state with an abundance of mountains, lakes, rivers, glaciers and wildlife. The post is surrounded by two mountain ranges - the Granites and the Alaska Range - providing a beautiful view of snow-capped mountains (for many in government quarters this can be seen by merely glancing out the window).

Location........................ : Fort Greely 100 Miles s/e of Fairbanks 350 Miles n/e of Anchorage

Major Command................... : U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK)

Mission......................... : "Guardians of the North" Support all field exercises. Support Northern Warfare Training Center Support Cold Regions Test Center Population assigned-served...... : 1319 Active Duty Officer.......... : 24 Active Duty Enlisted......... : 191 Family Members............... : 295 Retirees.& Family Members.... : 519 Civilian Employees........... : 294 Reserve Component Officers... : 0 Reserve Component Enlisted... : 0

Telephone Access................ : (907) 873-3284

History

The post's history began in 1942 when a "doughboy" named 1st Lt. William L. Brame, of the 138th Infantry Regiment, led an advance detail of 15 men to the Big Delta Area to establish an Army Air Corps Base. Brame was post commander. Brame was part of an organization activated in Seattle that consisted of an infantry platoon, quartermaster, medical, finance and signal detachments. These first Army units set up camp June 30, 1942 at what was to become Station 17, Alaskan Wing, Air Transport Command. Throughout World War II, the post was a rest/refueling spot for American pilots ferrying aircraft to Ladd Army Airfield (now Fort Wainwright) for the Lend Lease Program. Fort Greely continued as an Army Air Corps Base until 1945 when it was put on an inactive status. For the next two years, the Civil Aeronautics Authority and a skeleton crew of Army personnel maintained the installation. In April 1947, the War Department designated the base as the site for the first post-war cold weather maneuver, "Exercise Yukon", staged during the winter of 1947-1948. The installation was reactivated May 1, 1948 and was officially transferred to the Department of the Army and redesignated as an Army post. Under this directive the post was to be called United States Troops, Big Delta, Alaska. The post was named as the site for the Arctic Training Center in 1948. It was chosen because it combined the extreme winter conditions of the Alaska interior with a great variety of terrain, including rivers, lakes, swamps and open plains. Originally the center consisted of three subdivisions in addition to the post headquarters personnel: The Army Arctic Indoctrination School, Army Training Company (School Troops) and the Test and Development Section. The school was established to teach living and movement under extreme arctic and subarctic conditions to personnel from all branches of the Armed Services. The post was redesignated the Arctic Training Center July 1, 1949. Later that month the Arctic Test Branch was established by cadre at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and the transfer of personnel from each of the Army Field Forces Boards, located in the Zone of the Interior. The post was renamed the Army Arctic Center September 1, 1952. Construction began on the permanent buildings located a mile from the airfield in 1953. These buildings are referred to as "main post" today, while the original temporary buildings near the airfield are called "old post". During the same year, the U.S. Army Chemical Corps-Arctic Test Team was established at the post. A major construction program for permanent-type buildings was initiated in 1954. The program included post headquarters, post engineer facilities, auditorium, fire station, power plant, warehouses, photographic laboratory, maintenance shops, and the Cold Weather and Mountain School facilities. In addition, 96 sets of quarters, and three 200-man barracks, a post office, provost marshal facility, dispensary, library and personnel office were constructed. Barracks space was converted to what is now known as the Composite Building, Building 663. The post was designated Fort Greely August 6, 1955 in honor of Major General Adolphus Washington Greely, arctic explorer and founder of the Alaska Communications System. Greely was responsible for the construction of thousands of miles of telegraph lines throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Alaska. More than 45,000 miles of telegraph lines were completed in Alaska alone. Congress awarded Greely the Medal of Honor in 1935 for "his life of splendid public service." During 1955, a combined post exchange/theater building, service club, and gymnasium were constructed. The Chemical Corps Arctic Test Team was redesignated a Class II activity in 1956, and in 1957 was renamed the U.S. Army Chemical Corps - Arctic Test Activity. An Officers' Open Mess and Non-Commissioned Officers' Mess along with 72 more sets of quarters were constructed. The Arctic Test Group was renamed the Arctic Test Board, and the Arctic Indoctrination School became the Army Cold Weather and Mountain School when the Mountain Training Center at Fort Carson, Colorado was deactivated. A major landscaping program was initiated in 1958, and in 1959 a recreation building and an addition to the PX were constructed. During the 1960's, 93 additional sets of family quarters, a new chapel, another 200-man barracks and maintenance buildings were built. The Department of the Army redesignated the Cold Weather and Mountain School as the Northern Warfare Training Center (NWTC) April 1963. NWTC was then given the mission of training units in the conduct of warfare in northern areas of operation. A year later the Arctic Test Board was renamed the Arctic Test Center. Fort Greely became part of the 172nd Infantry Brigade in 1974, after the disestablishment of the United States Army, Alaska. The post was under the command of Forces Command (FORSCOM) at Fort McPherson, Georgia. With the activation of the 6th Infantry Division (Light) and the U.S. Army Garrison, Alaska, March 23, 1986, Fort Greely became one of the three posts of the division's one installation concept. Fort Greely celebrated it's 50th anniversary (in conjunction with the annual Midnight Sun Festival) with a three day festival in June 1992. The 6th Infantry Division (Light) was deactivated in a formal ceremony on 6 July 1994 at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. The actual effective date for the deactivation occurred on 26 July 1994 - becoming U.S.Army Alaska (USARAK).