Fort Detrick, MD Installation Guide

Commander, U.S. Army Garrison ATTN: MCHD-CCS-AC, Fort Detrick, MD 21702

Location: Fort Detrick, Maryland

Major Command: U.S. Army Medical Command

Mission : The mission of the U. S. Army Garrison and Fort Detrick is to command, operate and administer the use of resources to provide installation support to on-post Department of Defense and non-Department of Defense tenant organizations; and to furnish automated data processing, financial management and logistical support as directed to selected Headquarters, Department of the Army staff and field operating agencies. Fort Detrick serves four Cabinet-Level agencies, which include: The Department of Defense, Department of Justice, Department of Agriculture and Department of Human Services. Fort Detrick's DoD support also includes elements of the U. S. Navy, U. S. Marine Corps, U. S. Air Force and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Beyond that, Fort Detrick supports several Unified and Major Army Commands: Unified U. S. Army Forces Command, U. S. Army Space Command, U. S. Army Information Systems Command, and U. S. Army Health Services Command. Major tenants located on Fort Detrick are the U. S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, 1110th Signal Battalion, and the U. S. Army Medical Materiel Agency.

Population assigned-served... : 5677 (total), Active Duty Officer...: 285 Active Duty Enlisted...: 1048, Civilian Employees...: 2056 Contractors...: 2183, Others...: 105 Telephone Access............. : Autovahn information 8-231-1311,

History: On 10 April 1993, Fort Detrick celebrated fifty years as a contributing member of the National defense and the Frederick community. It is the largest employer in Frederick County with a workforce of 4,800 and injects more than $220 million dollars into the local economy each year. Fort Detrick was converted in 1943 from a National Guard airfield into a world-renowned biomedical research and development center. The ensuing years have seen the former Camp Detrick and Fort Detrick play important roles in world events, including four major military conflicts. Fort Detrick's impact is the result of each of the 25 tenant organizations' involvement in biomedical research and development, medical materiel management and long-haul communications capabilities for the White House, Department of Defense and other governmental agencies. Units have been deployed from Fort Detrick to Central America, Africa and Southwest Asia. Its organizations have been deeply involved in humanitarian efforts in Eastern Europe, in Panama as part of Operation Just Cause and Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield. Fort Detrick welcomes visitors to its facilities each day. The closing of the former biological warfare laboratories in 1969 opened the door for opportunities to support U.S. Department of Defense missions and for other agencies of the government. Its safety systems provide the only opportunity for high hazard microbiological research in the nation. Its proximity to Washington, D. C. and co-location of units from all services provides an excellent opportunity to coordinate work in several disciplines. Fort Detrick traces its roots to the small municipal airport known as Detrick Field in the 1930s.

The first military presence on August 10, 1931 was an encampment by the 104th Aero Squadron of the Maryland National Guard. It was named Detrick Field to honor Squadron Surgeon Major Frederick L. Detrick, who served in France during World War I. Major Detrick died in June 1931, two months before the first encampment. Detrick Field became a cadet pilot training center until December 1941. The 2nd Bombardment squadron, U. S. Army Air Corps, was reconstituted at Detrick Field between March and September 1942, when it was deployed to England, forming the nucleus of the Eighth Air Force Headquarters. In 1943, the U.S. Army Biological Laboratories were established at Detrick Field, which was renamed Camp Detrick. The team of early scientists achieved pioneering efforts in decontamination, gaseous sterilization, and agent purification. Camp Detrick became Fort Detrick in 1956, continuing its mission of biomedical research and its reputation as the world's leading research campus for agents requiring specialty containment. Clearly, contributions by Fort Detrick scientists have dramatically increased the world's ability to deal with infectious disease. The offensive biological warfare program was established in 1969. President Richard Nixon subsequently set up the National Institutes of Health's Frederick Cancer Research Center in former Army laboratories. In 1973, Fort Detrick became one of three U. S. Army Health Services Command installations. It now encompasses 1,200 acres of land. Fort Detrick has four structures on the National Historical Register, including the Nallin Farm house, The Bank Barn, Spring House and One million Liter Sphere, the Eight-Ball. Fort Detrick, with Fifty years of Excellence to its credit, boasts of state-of-the-art facilities, a newly installed expandable phone switch, post-wide fiber optics cable, up-to-date and expandable utilities, and a motivated workforce. Fort Detrick looks toward the 21st century and continuing the legacy of the Frederick County patriots who played major roles in the development of the nation.

Fort Detrick is responsible for the operation of the Alternate Joint Communications Center (AJCC), also called Site R, is located forty-five miles northeast of Fort Detrick. Facilities and services available at the site include a dining hall, cafeteria, snack bar, chapel, limited post office facilities and a barber shop.