Fort
Wainwright encompasses over 900,000
acres on the eastern boundary of the City of Fairbanks in the Tanana
River Valley. The Fort was
established in 1938 for the primary purpose of training soldiers and
testing equipment in arctic conditions. Industrial operations support
mission activities and include maintenance of aircraft and vehicles,
and power generation. Fort Wainwright is made up
of several areas, including a main post area of 4,473 acres, partly
within the city limits, 8,825 acres of ranges, and over 898,000 acres
of military maneuver areas. Approximately 15,000 people live and work
at Fort Wainwright. Image from North |
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| The
base was
named for Gen. Jonathan Wainwright who led delaying
tactics on Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines against Japanese
force in World War II. The air field
was named "LADD FIELD", now a National Historic Landmark, in
honor of Maj. Arthur K. Ladd, an Air Corps pilot killed in a plane
crash in South Carolina in 1935. Fairbanks History |
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| Fort
Wainwright,soldiers will work and train in temperatures ranging from 80 degrees F in the summer to minus 50 degrees F in the winter. |
Alaska Weather by Zones ...Cool
Map
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| From 1998 to 2006, it was home to the 172nd Infantry Brigade, which was reorganized in 2003 as the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), part of the U.S. Army's transition program to include six SBCTs. In 2006, the 172nd was re-flagged as the 1st brigade of the 25th Infantry Division. Fort Wainwright is also the home of Task Force 49, an aviation brigade that provides logistical air support for U.S. Army Alaska. It also hosts the Bureau of Land Management's Alaska Fire Service. It is home to Bassett Army Community Hospital. | |
