Fort Meade enables critical national security missions by providing its customers and community the facilities and infrastructure they require, the quality of life they deserve, and a safe, secure environment in which to work and live. Fort Meade has the fourth largest workforce of Army installations in the continental United States with approximately 40,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel.

The post was first established as Camp Meade in 1917 and named in honor of Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, a Civil War hero at the Battle of Gettysburg, Pa. The 5,400 acres of land on which Fort Meade sits was originally owned by Maj. Samuel Snowden, a Revolutionary War hero.

Located almost midway between the cities of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, near the communities of Odenton, Laurel, Columbia and Jessup, Fort Meade is virtually a city in itself. It consists of 5,400 acres with 65.5 miles of paved roads, 3.3 miles of secondary roads, and about 1,300 buildings. There is a modern exchange mall, bank, credit union, post office, chapels, seven schools and many other facilities on the installation. Whatever your interests – crafts, sports, movies – all are available on Fort Meade.

For more information call Fort Meade information at (301) 677-6261.

How Do I Get There?
From Washington D.C.: Take Interstate 95 or MD-295 N toward Baltimore to Md. Route 175 East. Follow 175 East until it turns into Annapolis Road. Follow the signs to the Reece Road main gate.

From Baltimore: Take Interstate 95 or MD-295 S toward Washington to Md. Route 175 East. Follow 175 East until it turns into Annapolis Road. Follow the signs to the Reece Road main gate.

From Annapolis:Take Interstate 50⁄301 to Interstate 97 toward Baltimore. Take MD 32 West toward Odenton⁄ Fort Meade. Take Md. Route 175 West, Annapolis Road; follow the signs to the Reece Road main gate.

How Do I Get Around?
Amtrak: Amtrak’s official Web site (www.amtrak.com) has train information. The closest station to Fort Meade is the BWI Airport Rail Station.

MARC Train: Mass Transit: Visitors without a car can travel to and from Baltimore or Washington D.C. by using the MARC train, a local commuter system available Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to midnight. The nearest MARC stations to Fort Meade are the BWI Rail Station or the Odenton Station. Visit www.mtamaryland.com for individual station hours and MARC fare and schedule information.

Airlines: Baltimore⁄Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Located in Anne Arundel County and approximately 10 miles away, BWI is the nearest airport to Fort Meade. Other airports in the area include: Dulles International Airport Dulles in Virginia and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, DC.

FORT MEADE HISTORY
Authorized by an Act of Congress in May 1917, Fort Meade was one of 16 cantonments built for troops drafted for the war with the Central Powers in Europe. The present Maryland site was selected June 23, 1917 because of its close proximity to the railroad, Baltimore port and Washington D.C. The cost for construction was $18 million and the land – originally owned by Revolutionary War hero Maj. Samuel Snowden – sold for $37 per acre in 1917. The post was originally named Camp Meade for Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, whose victory at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863 proved a major factor in turning the tide of the Civil War in favor of the North.

World War I
During World War I, more than 400,000 Soldiers passed through Fort Meade, a training site for three infantry divisions, three training battalions and one depot brigade.

The post remount station collected over 22,000 horses and mules during this time. Maj. Peter F. Meade, a nephew of Gen. Meade, was the officer in charge of the remount station. The ‘‘Hello Girls” – women who served as bilingual telephone-switchboard operators in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I – were also an important part of Fort Meade history.

In 1928, the post was designated Fort Leonard Wood, but Pennsylvania congressmen, angry at having the name of native son George Meade removed, held up Army appropriations until the Army agreed to name the new permanent installation Fort George G. Meade, which it did on March 5, 1929.

Tank Corps Joe
Around 1923, the famed tank riding dog Old Joe befriended Soldiers who manned the 66th infantry’s light tanks. Joe became the 66th Infantry’s official pet by order of the commanding officer of Fort Meade and acquired fame by becoming the Army’s only tank-riding dog. Joe died in 1937 in the post hospital. The entire 66th Infantry honored Joe with a military formation and a procession of tanks, and military trucks escorted Joe to a grave near one of the tank parks.

World War II
Fort Meade became a training center during World War II and its ranges and other facilities were used by more than 200 units and approximately 3,500,000 men between 1942 and 1946. The wartime peak military personnel figure at Fort Meade was 70,000, achieved in March 1945.

Fort Meade was home to many services. The Cooks and Bakers School supplied bread for the entire post (approximately 20,000 people, including families). In 1942, the Third Service Command opened the Special Services Unit Training Center, where Soldiers were trained in all phases of the entertainment field. Entertainers, musicians, and others involved in the entertainment industry, including swing-band leader Glenn Miller served in Special Services.

Fort Meade was home to a number of German and Italian prisoners of war. In Sept. 1943, the first shipment of 1,632 Italian and 58 German prisoners arrived at Fort Meade. Some of those prisoners, including a highly decorated German submarine commander named Werner Henke, died during captivity and were buried onFort Meade.

More than 150,000 American women served in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army.

The Cold War
With the conclusion of World War II, Fort Meade reverted to routine peacetime activities. One key post-World War II event at Fort Meade was the transfer from Baltimore, on June 15, 1947, of the Second U.S. Army Headquarters. This transfer brought an acceleration of post activity, because Second Army Headquarters exercised command over Army units throughout a seven-state area. A second important development occurred Jan. 1, 1966, when the Second U.S. Army merged with the First U.S. Army. The consolidated headquarters moved from Fort Jay, N.Y. to Fort Meade to administer activities of Army installations in a 15-state area.

The Modern Era
In August 1990, Fort Meade began processing Army Reserve and National Guard units from several states for the presidential call-up in support of Operation Desert Shield. In addition to processing reserve and guard units, Fort Meade sent two of its own active duty units – the 85th Medical Battalion and the 519th Military Police Battalion – to Saudi Arabia. In all, approximately 2,700 personnel from 42 units deployed from Fort Meade during Operation Desert Shield⁄Desert Storm.

THE FORT MEADE STRATEGIC PLAN 2007-2012
The Fort Meade Strategic Plan is a living document that outlines where the installation commander and Fort Meade’s senior leadership want the installation to be in five to 20 years.

Fort Meade’s previous vision, ‘‘A Federal Campus Providing World Class Services,” is no longer appropriate due to the enormous changes the base will undergo as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure. The addition of the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Defense Media Activity and the Military Department of Adjudication Activities to the installation by 2011 and the arrival of more than 5,500 new jobs to the installation require a new vision that matches Fort Meade’s growing prominence.

Fort Meade’s revised vision, ‘‘The Nation’s Preeminent Center for Intelligence and Information,” is central to its strategic plan. Furthermore, Fort Meade’s missions of enabling critical national security missions by providing customers and community the facilities and infrastructure they require, the quality of life they deserve and a safe, secure environment in which to work and live, are indicative of the five long-term goals that set the stage for the installation’s future.

Within each goal, there are specific objectives and action steps that ensure the goals will be met within a specific time frame.

The goals for Fort Meade are:

• Improve the quality of life for the Fort Meadecustomers and community.
• Improve the installation’s infrastructure, facilities, technology and environment to meet current and future mission requirements.
• Provide a safe and secure environment for mission activities and the personnel of Fort Meade.
• Maintain a mission-ready workforce that continuously improves and upgrades its capabilities.
• Continuously improve installation business practices and processes to maximize efficiency and effectiveness.
• Strategic planning is a year-long process led by the installation commander and senior leadership.

FORT MEADE INSTALLATION CUSTOMER SERVICE PROGRAMS
Installation Customer Service
(301) 677-5480 or (301) 677-3502
The Plans, Analysis & Integration Office, Interactive Customer Evaluation Web site, Employee Innovation Program, Army Suggestion Program, Installation Customer Service Program, and the Fort Meade Commander’s Hotline are programs designed to gather feedback about services and programs on Fort Meade.

Interactive Customer Evaluation
Web site: http:⁄⁄ice.disa.mil⁄index.cfm?fa=site&siteid=349
The ICE program is a Web-based program designed to gather feedback regarding the more than 130 programs and services available on Fort Meade directly from the customers who use them.

ICE users rank programs, allowing directors to see how they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Questions, complaints, suggestions and comments are also accepted.

The Commander’s Hotline
(301) 677-4464
The Commander’s Hotline is available 24 hours a day but is monitored Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Callers can make suggestions or offer comments about programs and services on Fort Meade.

Employee Innovation Program
The Employee Innovation Program is available 24 hours a day but is monitored Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Callers can make suggestions or offer comments about programs and services on Fort Meade.

Army Suggestion Program
The Army Suggestion Program is available 24 hours a day but is monitored Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Callers can make suggestions or offer comments about programs and services on Fort Meade.