Fort Myer

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall

The command includes Fort Myer, which is located in Arlington, VA and Fort Lesley J. McNair, which is located in Washington, D.C. As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative, Henderson Hall Marine Corps installation management functions have also joined the Fort Myer Military Community and it is now known as Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Fort Myer is approximately 2 miles from the District of Columbia. Our most immediate neighbor is the county of Arlington, originally part of a 10-mile square parcel of land surveyed in 1791 to be the nation's capital. Arlington is an urban county of about 26 square miles located directly across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

Arlington's central location in the Washington DC metropolitan area, its ease of access by car and public transportation, and its highly skilled labor force has attracted an increasingly varied residential and commercial mix.

Arlington has been ranked as one of the"Best Walking Cities". The cost of living here is 53% higher than the national average. For information or assistance, you may contact the ACS main desk at 703-696-3510 or DSN 312-426-3510. Visit the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall website.

History

Fort Myer traces its origins to the Civil War. Since then it has been an important Signal Corps post, a showcase for Army cavalry and the site of the first flight of an aircraft at a military installation. The first military test flight of an aircraft was made from the Fort Myer parade ground on September 9, 1908, when Orville Wright kept one of his planes in the air for one minute and 11 seconds. Fort Myer has been the home of Army chiefs of staff for nearly a century. During World War I, Fort Myer was a staging area for a large number of engineering, artillery, and gas companies and regiments. Fort Myer and Arlington National Cemetery occupy land once owned by the family of General Robert E. Lee's wife, Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee. Fort Myer today is headquarters to service personnel working throughout the National Capital Region (NCR). For more information, go to the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall website.

Fort Leslie J. McNair, on the point of land where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers join in Washington D.C., has been an Army post for more than 200 years, third only to West Point and Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, in length of service.  About 90 percent of the present buildings on the post's 100 acres were built, reconstructed or remodeled by 1908. In 1901, with the birth of the Army War College, the post, later called Washington Barracks, became the Army's center for the education and training of senior officers to lead and direct large numbers of troops. Its first classes were conducted in 1904. The Army Industrial College was founded at McNair in 1924 to prepare officers for high level posts in Army supply organizations, and to study industrial mobilization. It evolved into the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. The Army War College was reorganized as the Army-Navy Staff College in 1943, and became the National War College in 1946. The two colleges became the National Defense University in 1976.

Mission

The command's mission is three-fold. First, to respond to crises, disasters, or security requirements in the National Capital Region through implementation of various contingency plans. Second, provide both base operations and a variety of specialized support to Army and other Defense Department organizations throughout the National Capital Region. Specialized support includes personal property shipping, nationwide fixed-wing airlift and operation of Arlington National Cemetery. Third, and most visible, to conduct official ceremonies, locally and worldwide, on behalf of the nation's civilian and military leaders. The major command is the U.S. Army Military District of Washington (MDW). Within Joint Base Myer – Henderson Hall, major units include the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), HHC U.S. Army Garrison, HHC U.S. Army, The U.S. Army Band (TUSAB), 3rd Military Intelligence, CID/Washington District, National Defense University, White House Communications Agency, and the National Guard Bureau. See the major unit listings for more information.

Population Served

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall supports DoD military and civilian personnel assigned to Fort Myer, Fort McNair, Henderson Hall and the Pentagon.  The installation also serves a large number of military retirees.