Hello everyone, welcome back again with us at Military TV.
In the early history of warfare, humans learned that the best strategy for victory was compounded
in striking power, mobility, and self- protection. The United States has by far the strongest
military in the world. To maintain its global presence, the U.S has around 800
military bases on foreign sites across every continent except for Antarctica and also known
for having the largest defense budget as well as the largest military bases in the world.
These expansive military camps support populations of thousands of soldiers,
retirees, personnel, and their civilian families.
These facilities are used for training and troop deployments, for maintaining and testing weapons
systems, for research and education, and for aircraft testing. Given the space these
exercises often require, the physical size of these installations can be considerable.
We list the five largest U.S military bases in the world ranked by population.
Let's countdown from top 5, we have Fort Benning. With a population of 105.887 includes
22,778 active duty members, 54,108 family members, 13,296 retired personnel,
and 15,695 DoD/AAFES/other employees and more than one-quarter of the population active duty
members. Fort Benning has the 5th largest army base in the world. It is a ‘Tri-Community’,
with parts of the base in Columbus, Georgia, Fort Benning, and Phenix City, Alabama.
It is spread across an area of 182,000 acres, known as Maneuver Centre of Excellence
and the home of the Armour and Infantry. As a power projection platform, the Fort
is able to deploy forces by air, rail, and highway that are completely ready for combat.
Fort Benning’s name honors Brigadier General Henry L. Benning, who fought for the Confederacy
during the Civil War. Established in October 1918, the Fort began as a training center
and by the 1950s had the nation’s leading infantry training program. Fort Benning also
established schools for air assault and the ranger school that teaches advanced skills.
Today, the fort is the Home of the Infantry, National Infantry Museum
and U.S. Army Infantry School, and the Maneuver Center of Excellence since 2005.
Number 4. Joint Base Lewis-McChord
In the Pacific Northwest, Joint Base Lewis-McChord has a population of 209,000 in total, including
military personnel, family members, and retired veterans. Its population size makes it the 4th
largest military base in the world. The joint base also spans over 645 square miles of land
in the Pierce County region. The United States Army’s Fort Lewis merged with the United States
Air Force’s McChord Air Force Base in February 2010 to create this joint base. The merger was
a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendations.
Construction of Camp Lewis began May 1917 and its name honors Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and
Clark Expedition. After 10 years later, another bond measure passed to open an airfield north
of Fort Lewis. McChord field opened in 1940 and named after Colonel William Caldwell McChord who
died in an air accident. The strategic location of the JBLM allows the air force units to conduct
combat and humanitarian airlift to any location in the world with the C-17A Globemaster III, the most
advanced cargo transport aircraft in the force. Today, Joint Base Lewis-McChord is home to I Corps
and the 62d Airlift Wing and serves as a center for training and mobilization of
all military services. It’s the sole Army power projection base west of the Rocky Mountains.
Number 3. Fort Hood Located 60 miles north
of Austin and 50 miles south of Waco, Fort Hood is spread across 214,968 acres of land in Bell
and Coryell Counties. Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States
and is the only post in the country that can support two full armored divisions.
The base population of 227,000 includes more than 35,000 active duty members,
approximately 68,000 family members, over 103,000 retirees, as well as 40,000 personnel,
including army reserve, contractors and civilian/NAF/ and other employees.
Fort Hood was established to house tank destroyers and mobile anti-tank
guns during World War II. The base now acts as a mobilization station for Army
Reserve and National Guard units and as a strategic power projection platform.
The camp name honors General John Bell Hood, who served the Confederate Army during the
Civil War. Today Fort Hood is the largest armored post with active duty military.
Number 2. Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is located between Hopkinsville,
KY and Clarksville, TN, strategically located on the Tennessee/Kentucky state line.
The 106,700 acre installation possesses the capability to deploy mission-ready contingency
forces by air, rail, highway, and inland waterway. The total base population is 237,497 includes
26,615 military, 39,649 family members and 171,233 personnel. The site was selected on July 16,
1941, with construction beginning Feb. 4, 1942 and first activated during World War II.
The base is named in honor of Union Army Brigadier General William Bowen Campbell.
Until the end of the second World War, Fort Campbell was a training ground for the 12th,
14th, and 20th Armored divisions, as well as headquarters for the IV
Armored Corps and 26th Infantry Division. Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Division,
known as the “screaming eagles,” an elite division trained for air assault. Today they
also perform parachute demonstrations for live audiences around the country. In addition to
the 101st, the base supports the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and other groups.
And the top one is Fort Bragg as the largest US Army base in terms of population.
Located west of Fayetteville in North Carolina, the base is home to the 82nd Airborne.
Fort Bragg is also known as “the center of the military universe.” It has a total population
of about 270,811. Fort Bragg serves 545,926 active duty soldiers, 13,493 reserve components
and temporary duty students, 14,036 civilian employees, 6,054 contractors and 69,808 active
duty family members. It is also home to 121,494 army retirees and family members. With its active
and civilian population, Fort Bragg is the largest military base in the world and it’s still growing.
It was first established in 1918 and named after Braxton Bragg,
a commander in the Confederate States Army during the civil war.
Created to serve as a training center for artillery, it had the necessary terrain,
water access, climate and access to rail facilities to train soldiers year-round.
Fort Bragg’s original intended purpose was to support six artillery brigades,
but that plan fell through after the end of World War I, due to demobilization.
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