For more than a century, our region has been home to Fort Knox, and our rich history is intrinsically linked to the Army installation. For decades, the 110,000-acre installation had been the home of Armor, and today there are countless veterans and retirees in our community who represent that Armor heritage.
The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) saw the Armor Center and School move to Fort Benning, Georgia and several new missions arrived on post. While the Armor Center’s departure was met with some understandable disappointment, Fort Knox’s importance to our national defense, its strategic value and its regional economic impact has only grown since then. Today, Fort Knox is home to multifaceted missions with global impact.
For example, V Corps Headquarters is one of only four corps headquarters in the entire Army. Commanded by a Lieutenant General (3-star), V Corps is responsible for command and control of all Army forces in Europe. They have a forward operating headquarters in Poland, and have been particularly focused in support of NATO allies following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Additionally, Fort Knox’s 1st Theater Sustainment Command provides logistical operations for the military in the Middle East, where the unit regularly has Soldiers deployed.
Fort Knox is also the strategic center of human capital management for the Army with three major commands focused on talent attraction, development and management located here:
- U.S. Army Human Resources Command provides human capital management for every Soldier in the United States Army. It is the largest human capital management organization in the country, if not the world.
- U.S. Army Recruiting Command oversees the recruitment of the entire active duty and Army reserve enlisted force. The command has recruiters stationed all over the country, providing young men and women countless career opportunities and the honor to serve this great nation.
- U.S. Army Cadet Command oversees College Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs and all high school Junior ROTC programs. The college ROTC programs are responsible for the development and commissioning of 70 percent of the newly-commissioned officers the Army adds each year.
Cadet Command also hosts the Army’s largest annual training exercise at Fort Knox – Cadet Summer Training (CST). Upwards of 15,000 college ROTC cadets and instructors come to Fort Knox each year for CST.
Because of these strategic commands, Fort Knox also piloted the Army’s new Command Assessment Program (CAP) and is now the permanent home of this new evaluation process that determines which leaders are best suited for command positions.
Other critical missions at Fort Knox include First Army Division East, which is responsible for training and mobilizing all Army Reserve units in the Eastern United States.
The 19th Engineer Battalion, also located at Fort Knox, is the largest engineer battalion in the Army and a Corps level asset of the XVIII Airborne Corps.
As for Army Reserve Commands, Fort Knox is the headquarters for all Army Reserve Aviation in the country. Additionally, the 100th Training Division and the 84th Training Command provide critical training and leadership development for Army reserve Soldiers.
Lastly, Medical Department Activity (MEDDAC) Fort Knox provides health and dental care services to Soldiers and their family members stationed at Fort Knox and also oversees facilities at Bluegrass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky; Camp Atterbury, Indiana; Warren, Michigan; and Camp Grayling, Michigan.
As you can see, the missions at Fort Knox have a strategic impact and global reach. A workforce of approximately 22,000 Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and contractors support these missions each day, making it one of the largest employers in Kentucky and the largest in our region. The post’s annual economic impact is approximately $4.8 billion, including $1.3 billion in annual payroll.
At KRDA, we are committed to making sure our community does all it can to support Fort Knox, ensuring this regional economic engine and premier military installation is strong and well-positioned for growth.