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Fort George G. Meade is a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
installation located in
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of
United States Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integra ...
, the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
, the Defense Courier Service,
Defense Information Systems Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency. It is composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. D ...
headquarters, and the U.S. Navy's Cryptologic Warfare Group Six. It is named for George G. Meade, a Union general from the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, who served as commander of the Army of the Potomac. The fort's smaller
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
includes support facilities such as schools, housing, and the offices of the Military Intelligence Civilian Excepted Career Program (MICECP).


History


20th century

Initially called Camp Annapolis Junction, the post was opened as "Camp Admiral" in 1917 on acquired for a training camp. The post was called Camp Meade Cantonment by 1918, Camp Franklin Signal Corps school was located there and in 1919, the Camp Benning tank school—formed from the World War I Camp Colt and Tobyhanna schools—was transferred to the fort before the Tank Corps was disbanded. Renamed to Fort Leonard Wood (February 1928 – March 5, 1929), the fort's Experimental Motorized Forces in the summer and fall of 1928 tested vehicles and tactics in expedition convoys (Camp Meade observers had joined the in-progress 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy). In 1929, the fort's 1st Tank Regiment encamped on the Gettysburg Battlefield. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Fort Meade was used as a
recruit training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which Resocialization, resocializes its subjects for ...
post and
prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...
, in addition to a holding center for approximately 384 Japanese, German, and Italian immigrant residents of the U.S. arrested as potential
fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...
ists. The Second U.S. Army Headquarters transferred to the post on June 15, 1947; and in 1957, the post became headquarters of the
National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
.


Cold War air defense

From the 1950s until the 1970s, the Fort Meade radar station had various
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
equipment and control systems for air defense, such as the 1st Martin AN/FSG-I Antiaircraft Defense System. Fort Meade also had the first Nike Ajax
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...
s in December 1953 (operational May 1954) and an accidental firing occurred in 1955 with Battery C, 36th AAA Missile Battalion. In 1962, the Army's Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 13th Air Defense Artillery Group, transferred from Meade to Homestead AFB for initial deployment of
MIM-23 Hawk The Raytheon MIM-23 HAWK ("Homing All the Way Killer") is an American medium-range surface-to-air missile. It was designed to be a much more mobile counterpart to the MIM-14 Nike Hercules, trading off range and altitude capability for a much sm ...
missiles, and during the
Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...
, the 6th Battalion (HAWK), 65th Artillery at Fort Meade (a
United States Strike Command In 1961 the United States Strike Command (STRICOM) was established at MacDill Air Force Base as a unified combatant command capable of responding to global crises. The name of the command was originally derived from the acronym for Swift Tactic ...
unit) was deployed to the Miami/Key West area (the 8th Battalion (Hawk) was at the fort in late 1964). Fort Meade bomb disposal experts were dispatched to secure nuclear bombs in the 1964 Savage Mountain B-52 crash. In 1977, a merger organized the fort's U.S. Army Intelligence Agency as part of the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command. On October 1, 1991, a wing of the Air Force Intelligence Command transferred to Fort Meade, and the organization was replaced by the 70th Operations Group on May 1, 2005. In the early 1990s, was transferred from the post to the Patuxent Research Refuge. A planned closure of the post in the 1990s was not implemented, and the Defense Information School moved to the fort in 1995. The 311th Signal Command headquarters was at Fort Meade from 1996 to September 2006.


21st century

The 70th Intelligence Wing headquarters was established at Fort Meade on July 17, 2000, and the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005, designated Fort Meade to gain 5,700 positions. Fort Meade currently has more than 54,000 employees (service members and civilians), and is the largest employer in the state of Maryland and second largest installation by employee population in the Army. After an August 27, 2007, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency order to assess the contamination at 14
hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...
sites on Fort Meade, such as an ordnance disposal area, 1940s waste dump, closed sanitary landfill,Fort George G. Meade: Current Site Information
Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved January 24, 2008
a September 2007 environmental impact report identified adding two golf courses would be a "significant threat to the biological and territorial integrity of the Patuxent Research Refuge". The US Army responded that it is "taking steps to limit the environmental damage."Steve Vogel

''Washington Post'', September 22, 2007


Defense Information Systems Agency

After
United States Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integra ...
was established at the post in 2009; on April 15, 2011, the
Defense Information Systems Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency. It is composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. D ...
ribbon-cutting for the move from
Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...
, was at the agency's Fort Meade complex of .


Defense Information School

The consolidation of the Defense Information School and the Defense Visual Information School in fiscal 1996 and further consolidation with the Defense Photography School in fiscal 1998 created a single focal point in the
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
for these specialties fields. Advancements in information technology and recent base realignment and closure initiatives have contributed to the evolution of the school. The result is a single school proud of its historical roots and dedicated to serving the diverse requirements for public affairs, broadcasting and visual information.


Security incidents

Alleged gunman Hong Young was arrested in connection with shootings at five public places in Maryland, including an NSA building, theaters and occupied vehicles in late February 2015. No motive has been established but his estranged wife attributed his behavior to mental issues, and he told police he heard voices telling him to shoot at a random driver. On March 30, 2015, National Security Agency police officers shot and killed a person who attempted to drive an SUV through a restricted entrance to the NSA campus in Fort Meade, Maryland. A passenger in the SUV was injured, as was an officer, and both were treated at a hospital. President Obama was briefed but the FBI determined "we do not believe it is related to terrorism." On February 14, 2018, National Security Agency police officers shot and wounded an individual who rammed an SUV into a barricade near an entry gate outside of the facility. In the immediate aftermath of the event, the NSA announced that there was "no ongoing security or safety threat."


Geography

Fort Meade is bordered by the Baltimore–Washington Parkway on the west and is about east of
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
. It is located between
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
. It is located in proximity to Odenton, Columbia, Jessup,
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
, Laurel, and Severn. ()


Based units

Notable military and government units based at Fort George G. Meade.


United States Army

United States Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) * 352nd Civil Affairs Command
United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
* North Atlantic Division ** Baltimore District *** Bay Area Office United States Army Criminal Investigation Command * 68th Military Police Detachment (CID) United States Army Forces Command * First Army Division East ** 72nd Field Artillery Brigade *** 3rd Training Support Battalion United States Army Intelligence & Security Command * 704th Military Intelligence Brigade **
Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...
** 741st Military Intelligence Battalion ** 742nd Military Intelligence Battalion (Network Warfare) * 780th Military Intelligence Brigade **
Headquarters and Headquarters Company In United States Army units, a headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) is a company-sized military unit, found at the battalion level and higher. Considered one unit, a Headquarters and Headquarters Company is essentially two elements within ...
** 781st Military Intelligence Battalion * 902nd Military Intelligence Group ** Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment ** 308th Military Intelligence Battalion United States Army Recruiting Command * 1st Recruiting Brigade * Medical Recruiting Brigade ** 1st Medical Recruiting Battalion
United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...
* 48th Combat Support Hospital * 200th Military Police Command United States Army Training and Doctrine Command * Asymmetric Warfare Group Maryland Army National Guard * 32nd Civil Support Team Other * 241st Military Police Detachment * 55th Signal Company (Combat Camera) * Army Audit Agency * Army Public Affairs Center * Forensic Toxicology Drug Testing Laboratory * US Army Field Band


United States Marines

Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command * Headquarters Marine Corps Cyberspace Command Marine Corps Information Command * Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion ** Headquarters Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion ** Company B ** Company L


United States Air Force

Air Combat Command The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the prim ...
* Sixteenth Air Force ** 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing *** Headquarters 70th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing *** 70th Operations Support Squadron *** 659th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group **** 7th Intelligence Squadron **** 41st Intelligence Squadron *** 691st Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group **** 22nd Intelligence Squadron **** 29th Intelligence Squadron **** 34th Intelligence Squadron *** 707th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group **** 32nd Intelligence Squadron **** 94th Intelligence Squadron **** 707th Communications Squadron **** 707th Force Support Squadron
Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...
* Tenth Air Force ** 655th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing *** 655th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group **** 16th Intelligence Squadron **** 512th Intelligence Squadron


United States Navy

United States Fleet Cyber Command ( United States Tenth Fleet) * Cryptologic Warfare Group Six


Department of Defense

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency * Consolidated Adjudications Facility
Defense Information Systems Agency The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), known as the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) until 1991, is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) combat support agency. It is composed of military, federal civilians, and contractors. D ...
* Headquarters Defense Information Systems Agency Defense Media Activity * Headquarters Defense Media Activity * Defense Information School
United States Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integra ...
* Headquarters United States Cyber Command
United States Transportation Command The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of the eleven Unified combatant command, unified commands of the United States Department of Defense. In both times of peace and war, USTRANSCOM's role is to provide the Department of ...
* Defense Courier Service ** Defense Courier Station, Baltimore
Defense Logistics Agency The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is a combat support agency in the United States Department of Defense, United States Department of Defense (DoD). The agency is staffed by more than 26,000 civilian and military personnel throughout the world. ...
* DLA – Disposition Services


United States Department of the Navy

Naval Criminal Investigative Service The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the primary investigative law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy. Its primary function is to investigate major criminal activities involving the Nav ...
* Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility


United States Environmental Protection Agency

* Environmental Science Center


Library of Congress

* Book Storage Facility


National Security Agency

* Headquarters National Security Agency


Library of Congress

Fort Meade is used as a storage facility for the United States
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
. In 1994, a site located in the U.S. Army Base at Fort Meade, MD was transferred to the U.S. Congress to provide additional storage capacity for the Library of Congress and other legislative bodies. The current master plan includes the land to construct up to 13 Phased Storage Modules for collections, if this number is needed. In subsequent years, Congress provided construction funds in the Architect of the Capitol budget for Module 1, completed in 2002, for Module 2, completed in 2005 and Modules 3 and 4 and four cold storage rooms, completed in 2009. A full-scale three-year transfer program of the special format collections to Modules 3 and 4 and the four cold storage rooms began in Spring 2010 and was completed in September 2012. Module 5 has been fully funded with occupancy scheduled for September 2017. The state-of-the art storage modules are being built to store, preserve and protect the library's collections. Collections include books and bound periodicals as well as special format collections, such as maps, manuscripts, prints, photographs, sheet music, and microfilm masters. If needed and constructed, the 13 collections storage modules will provide a total of 180,600 gross sq ft of archival storage space for the library's collections.


Museums

The Fort George G. Meade Museum exhibited the post's historical artifacts, including uniforms, insignia, and equipment. The museum also had a small collection of vehicles, including a
Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) is a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to h ...
, a MK VIII Liberty Tank, an M3A1 Stuart, an M4A3E8 Sherman, an M41 Walker Bulldog, an M47 Patton, armored personnel carriers such as an M113, M114, M84, a Nike Ajax missile, and a UH-1H helicopter. The Fort George G. Meade Community Council noted in July 2018 that the museum would close, with artifacts relocated to the National Museum of the United States Army under construction in
Fort Belvoir, Virginia A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
.


Transportation

Since 2005, the NSA operates a shuttle service from the Odenton station of MARC to its Visitor Control Center at Fort Meade. In 2009, the U.S. Army established a similar shuttle service from the Odenton station to the Army section of Fort Meade; the NSA operates this service, allowing garrison employees, persons with Fort Meade visitor passes, and U.S. Department of Defense IDs to board.


Housing concerns

In February 2019, Secretary of the Army
Mark Esper Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964) is an American politician and manufacturing/high-tech executive who served as the 27th United States secretary of defense from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he had previously served as ...
, Chief of Staff Mark Milley, and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey met with the commander of IMCOM, the Fort Meade garrison commander, and Army families over safety concerns with housing units on the base in which residents were exposed to lead and
asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...
. After speaking with the CEO for the company which manages the house maintenance of the installation, the senior leaders of the Army will determine necessary actions. "We are deeply troubled by the recent reports highlighting the deficient conditions in some of our family housing. It is unacceptable for our families who sacrifice so much to have to endure these hardships in their own homes."—Secretary of the Army, Mark T. Esper and Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Mark A. Milley


Gallery

File:New arrivals at Fort Meade, Maryland. - NARA - 533531.tif, New recruits arrive, circa 1917–1919 File:Inspection of personnel, Fort George G. Meade, Md (71133).jpg, Inspection of personnel, circa 1930–1945 File:MI soldiers rehearse first aid procedures 140314-A-FE031-553.jpg, Medical situational training exercise, 2014 File:Nike Ajax (Jeff Kubina).jpg, Nike missile on display at Fort Meade File:Pride 140526-F-CJ989-055.jpg, Army soldiers from the Defense Information School lower the flag, 2014 File:Memorial Day Massing of the Colors 150517-A-KU820-058.jpg, Air Force Color Guard march during Massing of the Colors, 2015 File:Officer Houseing Fort Meade Maryland.Jpg, Officer housing at Fort Meade


See also

* List of United States military bases


References


External links

*
Fort Meade Alliance
{{Authority control Meade Buildings and structures in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Meade Military Superfund sites National Security Agency facilities Superfund sites in Maryland M Meade Intelligence agency headquarters in the United States