Fort A.P. Hill

{{Short description|Installation of the US Army near Bowling Green, VA}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Infobox military installation | name = Fort A.P. Hill Regional Training Center | location = Caroline County, Virginia | image = | caption = | pushpin_map = Virginia#USA | pushpin_mapsize = 300 | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Fort A.P. Hill | coordinates = {{coord|38|07|04|N|77|16|35|W|display=inline,title|region:US-VA_type:landmark}} | type = Military base | controlledby = {{flagicon|United States}} United States Army | built = 11 June 1941<ref name="APhistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.aphill.army.mil/sites/about/history.asp |title=Fort AP Hill, Va • History |access-date=1 April 2007 |work=Fort A.P. Hill |publisher=U.S. Army Installation Management Command |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070409024054/http://www.aphill.army.mil/sites/about/history.asp |archive-date=9 April 2007 }}</ref> | used = 1941—present | battles = | events = | current_commander = Lt. Col. Matthew S. Bauer <ref name="New Command team at Fort A.P. Hill">{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/207624/new_command_team_at_fort_a_p_hill|title=New Command team at Fort A.P. Hill|website=www.army.mil|date=25 June 2018 }}</ref> | past_commanders = Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Q. Jordan<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/170576/jordan_takes_command_of_u_s_army_garrison_fort_a_p_hill|title=Jordan takes command of U.S. Army Garrison, Fort A.P. Hill|website=www.army.mil|date=28 June 2016 }}</ref> Lieutenant Colonel David A. Meyer<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/129058/new_command_team_takes_over_at_fort_a_p_hill|title=New command team takes over at Fort A.P. Hill|website=www.army.mil|date=27 June 2014 }}</ref> Lieutenant Colonel Peter E. Dargle<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/82125/fort_a_p_hill_welcomes_new_garrison_commander|title=Fort A.P. Hill welcomes new garrison commander|website=www.army.mil|date=20 June 2012 }}</ref> Lieutenant Colonel John W. Haefner<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/129165/area_i_has_a_new_garrison_commander|title=Area I has a new garrison commander|website=www.army.mil|date=13 July 2014 }}</ref> Lieutenant Colonel Michael S. Graese<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/article/8527/army_announces_communities_of_excellence_winners|title=Army Announces Communities of Excellence Winners|website=www.army.mil|date=16 April 2008 }}</ref> Lieutenant Colonel James M. Mis Lieutenant Colonel James B. Balocki Lieutenant Colonel Michael E. Gates<ref name="New Command team at Fort A.P. Hill"/> Lieutenant Colonel Andrew P. Aswell Lieutenant Colonel Jason P. Duffy | occupants = | website = {{URL|https://home.army.mil/aphill/}} }}

'''Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill''', commonly known as '''Fort A.P. Hill''' (formerly '''Fort Walker''')<ref name= redesignation >MDW USARMY [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6vtUUP-rf0 (25 August 2023) Fort Walker Redesignation Ceremony] 59:22, Ceremony sponsored by MG Trevor Bredencamp, commander of Military District of Washington; additional remarks by LTG (Ret) Nadja West 44th US Army Surgeon General</ref> is a training and maneuver center belonging to the United States Army located near the town of Bowling Green, Virginia. The center focuses on arms training and is used by all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, independent of any post.<ref name= imcomWalker />

As such, the units being trained will coordinate with Fort A.P. Hill's Installation Safety Office, the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security, the Regional Training Support Center, Fort A.P. Hill's Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, the Directorate of Public Works, and the Directorate of Resource Management.

A Post Exchange and Commissary are a 60-mile drive away, at Fort Belvoir; online purchases can be trans-shipped to Fort A.P. Hill.<ref name= garrisonWalker >U.S. ARMY GARRISON FORT WALKER [https://home.army.mil/walker/about/Fort-Walker-Garrison-Directorate-Directory/exchange-shoppette (2023) Fort Walker EXCHANGE-SHOPPETTE]</ref>

C-17s and C-130s can land at the Fort A.P. Hill Airstrip. There is a jump zone, and drop zone.<ref name= imcomWalker >Fort Walker [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjagnMfuzzc (2023) U.S. Army Garrison Fort Walker Welcome Video]</ref> ==History== In the spring of 1940, the War Plans Division of the Army General Staff developed a plan to raise a national army of four million men that would allow it to conduct simultaneous operations in both the Pacific and European theaters. In July 1940, a movement began to locate an area of approximately {{convert|60000|acre|km2}}, independent of any post, and lying somewhere between the Potomac River and the upper Chesapeake Bay.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/>

Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Marston, an artillery officer stationed in Richmond, Virginia and acting as an agent of the Third Corps Area commander, made a detailed investigation of the Bowling Green, Virginia area in September 1940. He enthusiastically recommended that the War Department procure the Caroline County site.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/> The result was a maneuver area that contained {{convert|77332|acres|km2}} and billeting space for 74 officers and 858 enlisted personnel.

The installation was established as an army training facility on 11 June 1941, pursuant to War Department General Order No. 5. In its first year, the installation was used as a maneuver area for the II Corps and for three activated National Guard divisions from the Mid-Atlantic states. In the autumn of 1942, Fort A.P. Hill was the staging area for the headquarters and corps troops of Major General George S. Patton’s Task Force A, which was part of the Western Task Force of the Allied invasion of French North Africa. During the early years of World War II, the post continued to be a training site for corps and division-sized units. Commencing in 1944, field training for Officer Candidate School and enlisted replacements from nearby Forts Lee, Eustis, and Belvoir was conducted.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/>

In 1952, during the Korean War, the installation was designated as Camp A.P. Hill and was a major staging area for units deploying to Europe, including the VII Corps Headquarters and the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The fort was the major center for the Engineer Officer Candidate School, training students from Fort Belvoir during the Vietnam War.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/>

Construction of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://goordnance.army.mil/|title=U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and School|website=goordnance.army.mil}}</ref> Explosive Ordnance Disposal training center was completed in July 2011, with the first day of class being 17 October 2011. It is named after Captain Jason McMahon, who died in Afghanistan in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Fort A.P. Hill Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training Center honors a fallen hero|date=8 November 2013 |url=https://www.army.mil/article/114630/Fort_A_P__Hill_Explosive_Ordnance_Disposal_Training_Center_honors_a_fallen_hero/|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=30 September 2014}}</ref> The center provides explosive ordnance disposal advanced technical training and tactical skills education for both officer and enlisted. [[File:160727-D-DB155-034 (28081484524).jpg|thumb|Replica Washington Metro station]] The U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awg.army.mil/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050810013006/http://www.awg.army.mil/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 August 2005|title=Army Asymmetric Warfare Group|website=www.awg.army.mil}}</ref> officially opened its $90.1 million Asymmetric Warfare Training Center on 24 January 2014. The {{convert|300|acre|adj=on}} training complex includes a headquarters, barracks, administrative, training and maintenance facilities, an urban training area, a {{convert|12|mile|adj=on}} mobility range, an {{convert|800|m|adj=on}} known distance range, a light demolitions range and an indoor shooting range.<ref>{{cite web|title=Asymmetric Warfare Training Center Opens at Fort A.P. Hill|date=24 January 2014 |url=http://www.army.mil/article/118796/Asymmetric_Warfare_Training_Center_opens_at_Fort_A_P__Hill/|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=2 October 2014}}</ref> This center focuses on providing joint and combined arms training. All branches of the U.S. Armed Forces train at the installation, and the installation has also hosted training of foreign allies, ranging from providing support for mobilizations to helping units train for deployment.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/>

===Redesignation=== [[File:Image of Lieutenant General A.P. Hill.jpg|thumbnail|right|upright|General A. P. Hill, after whom the fort was formerly named]] The installation was named for Virginia native and Confederate Lieutenant General A. P. Hill.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History">{{cite web|title=Fort A.P. Hill History|url=http://www.aphill.army.mil/history.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010619002446/http://www.aphill.army.mil/history.asp|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 June 2001|publisher=U.S. Army|access-date=18 March 2013}}</ref> Fort A.P. Hill was one of the U.S. Army installations named for Confederate soldiers to be recommended for renaming by The Naming Commission.<ref>{{cite news|last=Levenson|first=Michael|title=These Are the 10 U.S. Army Installations Named for Confederates|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/11/us/military-bases-confederates.html|access-date=14 June 2020|newspaper=New York Times|date=11 June 2020}}</ref> Their recommendation was that the post be renamed '''Fort Walker''', after American abolitionist and Civil War surgeon Mary Edwards Walker.<ref name=recommendations>The Naming Commission (Aug 2022) [https://www.thenamingcommission.gov/faqs Recommendation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009095243/https://www.thenamingcommission.gov/faqs |date=9 October 2022 }}</ref> On 5 January 2023 William A. LaPlante, US under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment (USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.<ref name= namingBegins >[https://www.war.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3260496/pentagon-press-secretary-air-force-brig-gen-pat-ryder-holds-an-on-camera-press/ (5 January 2023) Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds an On-Camera Press Briefing]</ref> The post was redesignated Fort Walker on 25 August 2023.<ref name= namingBegins /><ref name=px >Robert Philpot [https://publicaffairs-sme.com/FamilyServingFamily/2023/03/22/exchange-teams-prepare-for-big-changes-as-9-army-posts-get-new-names/ (22 Mar 2023) Exchange Teams Prepare for Big Changes as 9 Army Posts Get New Names]</ref><ref name= 25Aug2023Redesignation >Robert Philpot [https://publicaffairs-sme.com/FamilyServingFamily/2023/08/25/installation-renamings-the-story-of-dr-mary-walker-the-only-female-medal-of-honor-recipient/ (25 Aug 2023) Installation Renamings: The Story of Dr. Mary Walker, the Only Female Medal of Honor Recipient] </ref>

In June 2025 it was announced that Fort Walker would be renamed to '''Fort Anderson-Pinn-Hill''', shortened as A.P. Hill, to honor three different Civil War soldiers who fought for the Union: Private Bruce Anderson, First Sergeant Robert A. Pinn, and Lieutenant Colonel Edward Hill.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2025-06-16 |title=Fort Walker prepping to revert back to A.P. Hill, but with a twist |url=https://www.fredericksburgfreepress.com/2025/06/16/fort-walker-prepping-to-revert-back-to-a-p-hill-but-with-a-twist/ |access-date=2026-01-19 |website=Fredericksburg Free Press |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Baldor |first1=Lolita C. |title=Army restores the names of seven bases that lost their Confederate-linked names under Biden |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-army-bases-confederate-names-69f63771d0e7ca859d42c485129d1228 |access-date=15 June 2025 |work=AP |publisher=The Associated Press |date=10 June 2025 |location=Washington D.C.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Cameron |first1=Chris |title=Trump Says Army Bases Will Revert to Confederate Names |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/politics/trump-army-base-rename-confederate.html |access-date=15 June 2025 |work=The New York Times |publisher=The New York Times Company |date=10 June 2025 |location=Washington D.C.}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Bruce Anderson !Robert A. Pinn !Edward Hill |- |No Photo Available |frameless|291x291px |frameless|287x287px |}

=== Collaborative Anti-Mine and Robotic Breaching Exercise === On 12 June 2024 the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (CCDC) C5ISR demonstrated anti-mine capabilities during a robotic breaching exercise at Fort Walker.<ref name= peoSoldier >Chris Hall, Fort Walker Public Affairs Office [https://www.army.mil/article/277439/fort_walker_hosts_collaborative_anti_mine_robotic_breaching_exercise (20 Jun 2024) Fort Walker hosts collaborative anti-mine, robotic breaching exercise]</ref>

== Organization == The Fort A.P. Hill garrison currently includes;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.army.mil/walker|title=U.S. Army Fort Walker|website=www.army.mil|language=en|access-date=2 September 2023}}</ref>

* Directorate of Emergency Services * Directorate of Family and MWR * Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security * Regional Training Support Center * Plans, Analysis and Integration Office * Directorate of Public Works * Directorate of Resource Management * Installation Safety Office * Sustainable Range Program

==Training== thumb|left|Soldiers participate in a road march at the fort in 2013. It is used year-round for military training of both active and reserve troops of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force, as well as Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadets and other government agencies including the Departments of State and Interior, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and federal, state, and local security and law enforcement agencies.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/> {{Clear}}

==Boy Scouts of America National Jamborees== thumb|left|Fort A.P Hill during 2010 Boy Scout Jamboree thumb|Secretary of Defense Robert Gates addresses the 2010 National Scout Jamboree at the fort The installation hosted the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree in 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005, and 2010.<ref name="Fort A.P. Hill History"/> The number of participants each time included approximately 35,000 Boy Scouts and some 250,000 visitors. In 2013, the Boy Scouts moved the Jamboree to its new permanent home at Summit Bechtel Reserve high adventure camp in Fayette County, West Virginia. {{Clear}}

==In the media== An episode of ''What on Earth?'', first shown on Discovery Channel as S8 E1 (8/27/20), features the site in an episode called "Zombietown USA".<ref>{{cite web |title=Zombietown USA |url=https://www.discovery.com/shows/what-on-earth/episodes/zombietown-usa |website=Discovery |publisher=Warner Bros. |access-date=6 March 2023}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Fort A.P. Hill}} *[https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA544134/ Wealthy in Heart: Oral History of Life Before Fort A.P. Hill] *[https://home.army.mil/walker/index.php/about/history History of Fort Walker page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214234129/https://home.army.mil/walker/index.php/about/history |date=14 December 2023 }}

Category:Caroline County, Virginia Walker Walker Walker Category:Buildings and structures in Caroline County, Virginia Walker Category:1941 establishments in Virginia