Fort Belvoir

Infobox Military Structure
name=Fort Belvoir
location=Fairfax County, Virginia


caption=
type=Army post
built=1917
materials=
used=1917 - present
controlledby=U.S. Army
garrison=U.S. Army Materiel Command
Defense Logistics Agency
Defense Contract Audit Agency
commanders=
battles=

Fort Belvoir is a United States military installation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 7,176 at the 2000 census. Colonel Jerry L. Blixt is the garrison commander.

Fort Belvoir serves as the headquarters for the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, the Defense Technical Information Center, and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, agencies of the United States Department of Defense.

Fort Belvoir is home to the United States Army Materiel Command and elements of ten other Army major commands; nineteen different agencies and direct reporting units of the Department of Army; eight elements of the U.S. Army Reserve and the Army National Guard; and twenty-six Department of Defense agencies. Also located here are the 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power), the U.S. Army Prime Power School, a Marine Corps detachment, a U.S. Air Force activity, U.S. Army Audit Agency, and an agency from the Department of the Treasury.

History

The base was founded during World War I as Camp A. A. Humphreys, named for Andrew A. Humphreys. The post was renamed Fort Belvoir in the 1930s to honor the historic Belvoir Manor, but the adjacent U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Humphreys Engineer Center retains part of the original namesake. Fort Belvoir was home to Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron the proprietor of the Northern Neck, which once stood on land now on the base. (After the Revolutionary War, Fairfax County revolutionaries destroyed the building.)

Fort Belvoir was initially the home of the US Army Engineer School prior to its relocation in the 1980s to Fort Leonard Wood, in Missouri. It was also the home of the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratory. [ [http://gsl.erdc.usace.army.mil/gl-history/Chap4.htm GL History - Chapter 4 ] ]

Future

As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, Fort Belvoir is expected to have a substantial increase in the number of people stationed or employed there. The expansion of the base is a source of significant controversy between the Army and the local government as Fort Belvoir is located in heavily suburban Northern Virginia. The largest concern for local officials and residents is an increase in the traffic that the expansion of the post would cause. There is a potential traffic problem because the post is located on a heavily-trafficked U.S. Route 1 corridor. Recent points of controversy include the location of the planned US Army Museum.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 7,176 people, 1,904 households, and 1,867 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 314.1/km² (813.7/sq mi). There were 2,056 housing units at an average density of 90.0/km² (233.1/sq mi). The racial makeup of the CDP was 55.69% White, 31.83% African American, 0.54% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.89% Pacific Islander, 5.07% from other races, and 4.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.45% of the population.

There were 1,904 households out of which 84.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.3% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 1.9% were non-families. 1.7% of all households were made up of individuals and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.66 and the average family size was 3.68.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 44.4% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 41.3% from 25 to 44, 3.9% from 45 to 64, and 0.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $39,592, and the median income for a family was $39,107. Males had a median income of $30,625 versus $25,817 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $12,453. About 4.7% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Noteworthy residents

* Bill Willingham

Current Units

* DeWitt Army Community Hospital

See also

* National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
* Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge"
* 249th Engineer Battalion (Prime Power)
* 911th Engineer Company (Technical Rescue)
* Defense Communications Electronics Evaluation and Testing Activity
* Intelligence and Security Command

References

External links

* [http://www.belvoir.army.mil/ Fort Belvoir official home page]