Fort Gordon is a 56,000-plus-acre Army post at Augusta's western edge. It is home to a military population of more than 12,000, and 2,377 civilian employees, plus more than 27,000 area military retirees and their family members using the post's services.
The fort has served national defense from the beaches of Normandy to the desert sands of Iraq.
With World War II looming, a contract was set in place to build Camp Gordon on May, 5, 1941, according to back issues of The Augusta Chronicle.
One of the first units to train at the camp was the 4th Infantry Division.
Led by Gen. R.O. Barton, who later became a well-known Augusta real estate executive, 4th Infantrymen were the first to land on Utah Beach during the D-Day Invasion of Normandy.
In 1956, the camp became a permanent Army installation. In 1974, all Army signal school training was consolidated at Fort Gordon, making it the largest military telecommunications complex in the world.
In the first years of the 21st century, as America has faced new threats of terrorism, Fort Gordon soldiers - from signal battalions and the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade - have played a part, from Afghanistan to Iraq.
The installation is taking a lead role in developing the "digitized battlefield," where cutting-edge computer and communications technology unite commanders, troops and support elements instantly on the battlefield.
As the military becomes a leaner fighting force, members from other service branches - the Air Force, Navy and Marines - are making the Army post home, training in communications and performing intelligence duties.
Fort Gordon's total economic impact, including pay, contracts, purchases and federal school aid totals more than $1 billion.
But for all its laurels, the future of the installation isn't certain.
The Augusta area prepared during 2003 to protect Fort Gordon past the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round. The Department of Defense is expected to cut 20 to 25 percent of its installations in order to reshape the military and improve efficiency.
Georgia has never lost an installation in the past four closure rounds. Augusta, like other military communities in the state, formed a community organization to help promote Fort Gordon, called the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon.
The alliance is working to raise more than $1.2 million in order to fund consultants, lobbyists and studies that will attempt to convince the Department of Defense of Fort Gordon's value.
IT'S A FACT:
Fort Gordon was named for Georgian John B. Gordon, one of Robert E. Lee's generals, who served the state after the Civil War as governor and U.S. senator.
