Fort Rucker
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama. It was named for Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Warfighting Center (USAAWC) and the United States Army Aviation Museum. Small sections of the post also lie in Coffee, Geneva, and Houston counties. It is treated by the United States Census as a census-designated place, and so specific demographic information is compiled on the post's residents.
The main post has entrances from three bordering cities, Daleville, Ozark and Enterprise. In the years before the September 11, 2001 attacks, the main post (except airfields and other restricted areas) was an open post with unmanned gates allowing civilians to drive through.
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[edit] Military facilities
The US Army Aviation Warfighting Center is the dominant military facility at Fort Rucker. Training, doctrine, and testing are all key parts of the Center's mission to develop Army Aviation's capabilities. All Army Aviation training has been undertaken at Fort Rucker since 1973, as well as training of US Air Force and ally helicopter pilots. The Center is home to the US Army Aviation Technical Test Center (ATTC), which conducts developmental aircraft testing for Army Aviation. The United States Army Operational Test and Evaluation Command's Test and Evaluation Coordination Office and TH-67 primary and instrument training are both located at Cairns Army Airfield.
Operational units on the post include the 1st Aviation Brigade handling Army Aviation training, and the USAF 23d Flying Training Squadron for the training of Air Force helicopter pilots. The 1st Aviation Brigade consists of 5 battalions using three different sites. 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment operates from Hanchey Army Heliport and conducts graduate level training using the AH-64D Apache Longbow and OH-58D Kiowa helicopters. 1st Battalion, 212th Aviation Regiment operates from Lowe Army Heliport and conducts combat and night operational training, as well as training for Latin American pilots under the United States Security Cooperation Program, using the OH-58, UH-1, and UH-60 helicopters. 1st Battalion, 223d Aviation Regiment operates from Cairns Army Airfield and Knox Army Heliport and conducts flight training using the CH-47 Chinook helicopter and C-12 Huron aircraft. Additional Airfields are Lowe, Shell, and Hanchey. Numerous, small, multi-lane heliports, called "stagefields", exist throughout the southeastern Alabama area to support flight training at Fort Rucker.
Additionally, due to the large number of Warrant Officers stationed here, the Warrant Officer Career Center and the Warrant Officer Candidate School are located at Fort Rucker.
Fort Rucker is often referred to as "Mother Rucker", both as an insulting pseudo-homonym, and in deference to the birth of an Army Aviator's career and his or her constant return to the Post for continued training and responsibility throughout their career. It is common knowledge in an Army Aviation career, that "Everyone returns to Mother Rucker," because of the frequency of pilot training, and re-education.
Support and other facilities at Fort Rucker include the Lyster Army Health Clinic, United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab, United States Army School of Aviation Medicine, and Army Aviation Museum.
[edit] History
After the onset of World War II, the US War Department decided to add a number of new bases. Fort Rucker (situated on 35,000 acres of sub-marginal farmland, and formerly a wildlife refuge) was opened May 1, 1942 as "Camp Rucker". It was deactivated following the war, then reopened during the Korean conflict. After another short deactivation, it was again reopened and expanded when it became a helicopter training base. The name was changed to "Fort Rucker" in October of 1955.
Hanchey Army Heliport became the home of the Department of Rotary Wing Training of the Army Aviation School on 5 October 1959, marking the first time the Department was centralized.
While serving in the Army, former US Vice-President Al Gore was stationed at Fort Rucker before his five-month deployment in Vietnam.
[edit] Geography
Fort Rucker is located at 31°20'37" North, 85°42'29" West (31.343654, -85.707995)GR1.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 28.2 km² (10.9 mi²). 28.2 km² (10.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.18% water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 6,052 people, 1,399 households, and 1,347 families residing on base. The population density is 215.0/km² (556.8/mi²). There are 1,544 housing units at an average density of 54.8/km² (142.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 68.52% White, 18.13% Black or African American, 0.94% Native American, 2.05% Asian, 0.74% Pacific Islander, 5.27% from other races, and 4.35% from two or more races. 11.68% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,399 households out of which 79.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.4% are married couples living together, 8.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 3.7% are non-families. 3.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.47 and the average family size is 3.51.
The base population is spread out with 35.3% under the age of 18, 15.9% from 18 to 24, 46.2% from 25 to 44, 2.4% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 131.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 145.1 males.
The median income for a base household is $34,603, and the median income for a family is $33,664. Males have a median income of $29,321 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income is $14,495. 7.1% of the population and 6.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
[edit] External links
- Ft. Rucker official website
- Army Aviation Museum
- Fort Rucker Guide - History
- Engineer Beach RV Park Information, Fort Rucker
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
