Fort Polk, LA Installation Guide

Welcome to Fort Polk and West Central Louisiana. Congratulations on joining the "Best Small Army Hometown" in the U.S. Fort Polk is unique in all the Army because it is the only Combat Training Center (CTC) that also has the mission to train and deploy combat and combat support units. From its start as a base for the Louisiana Maneuvers in the 1940s, to a basic training post during Vietnam, to the home of the 5th Mech Division in the 1980s, and its current dual missions as a CTC and home of the 2nd ACR and Warrior Brigade, Fort Polk has excuted all of the Army's mission.

This SITES booklet provides valuable information and important phone numbers to help you plan for your move to Fort Polk. You will quickly find that Central Louisiana is long on hospitality and appreciation for the military. We have a very supportive neighboring relationship with our surrounding communities. Being a small installation with about 8,000 soldiers, Fort Polk offers a surprisingly diverse array of facilities and opportunities for soldiers and their families. Educational opportunities, arts and crafts, sports, hunting and fishing, outdoor recreation and other facilities are readily available.

As you plan your move to our community, there are some considerations to keep in mind. It is very hot and humid in the summer and surprisingly cool in the winter, although snow is indeed a rarity. Most will arrive at the height of the hot season in July and August and that takes some getting used to. Our small size fosters a sense of community and friendship among our residents that is rare on Army posts today. You will quickly find yourself making new friends and pursuing new interests and opportunities you may never have considered before. You will even get a chance to sample the local food, especially catfish and crawfish.

On behalf of our military, families, civilian workers and local communities of Leesville, New Llano and DeRidder, my goal is to make your stay at Fort Polk the best experience of your military career!

Thomas E. Sittnick Colonel, Infantry Garrison Commander

Fort Polk is located in west-central Louisiana, about 45 miles from Alexandria, 70 miles from Lake Charles, 120 miles from Shreveport, 150 miles from Baton Rouge, 250 from New Orleans, and 180 from Houston. Closer to our front gate are the nearby towns of Leesville, La, located in Vernon Parish, and DeRidder, La, located in Beauregard Parish. (Louisiana has PARISHES not COUNTIES as other states do).

The Joint Readiness Training Center provides advance level joint training for the Army (Active and Reserve Component), Air Force and Navy contingency forces in deployment and tactical operations under realistic conditions of low to mid intensity combat.

Telephone Access................ : 1-800-227-1071, Ex 1726/1727 (Field Officer of the Day)

Construction of Camp Polk began January 28, 1941 on the broad, rolling plains that at the time contained little but cut-over pine forests, a few dilapidated shacks and some range-wire fencing. The camp's first commander, Colonel Otto Wagner, arrived at the post with a few soldiers in March 1941. Thousands of wooden barracks sprang up virtually overnight to support an Army preparing to battle Axis forces on the North African, European and Pacific fronts. Camp Polk - named for Confederate Lieutenant General and Episcopal Bishop Leonides Polk - was officially completed August 1, 1941.

From the end of World War II until the early 1960s, the post suffered a series of traumatic closings and reopenings. During much of this time, it was open only in the summers to support reserve component training. The United States continued to look at Camp Polk whenever crisis arose, though, and active Army units were stationed here temporarily during the Korean War and the Berlin Crisis.

Fort Polk's hard-core reputation began in 1962 with its conversion to an infantry training center. As soldiers prepared for combat in Southeast Asia, commanders made the most of Fort Polk's 198,000 acres - especially a small portion filled with dense, jungle-like vegetation. For the next 12 years, more soldiers were shipped out to Vietnam from Fort Polk than from any other American training base. In 1974, as hostilities in Southeast Asia drew to a close, Fort Polk's continued role in U.S. defense was signalled by its selection as the home of the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). About the same time, Congress passed the largest military construction bill ever allocated to a single installation.

Soldiers of the World War II and Vietnam eras would scarcely recognize the new Fort Polk. Most of the old wooden buildings have been replaced with modern barracks, motor pools, unit administrative offices, and service facilities. More than 4,000 married soldiers reside with their families in recently constructed on-post housing units as well. After more than half a century of service, U.S. leaders continue to place their confidence in Fort Polk. The 1990s bring new challenges as the United States cuts its military strength in response to the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the Soviet Union. In July 1993, the Joint Readiness Training Center, one of the Defense Department's premier training facilities, relocated here from Fort Chaffee, Arkansas. The 1st of the 509th Infantry Regiment serves as the opposing force to the combat and special operations units rotating through training exercises here. The 2nd Armored Division - formerly the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - left Louisiana after a 20 year residency. The division began its relocation to Fort Hood, Texas, in 1992 and completed the move in December l993. More than a dozen other units have been reassigned here from Europe and other U.S. locations as the nation enhances and realigns its contingency force within its own borders.