Fort Lewis

Fort Lewis is one of the U.S. Army's largest installations and its only West-coast Power Projection Platform. Fort Lewis can deploy one or more high priority active component brigades; mobilize and deploy high priority Army Reserve and Guard component units. Since 2001, more than 77,000 soldiers from 900 units have mobilized and deployed through Fort Lewis to support Global War on Terrorism, Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and other operations worldwide.

Although Fort Lewis is not a city, its large military and civilian work force gives it the economic and infrastructure characteristics of a city. Approximately 31,000 Soldiers, 46,800 family members and 11,400 civilians live or work here. The fort's military and civilian workforce has an annual payroll of $1.753 Billion. Fort Lewis also has an extensive infrastructure, which includes five schools, three hotels, two libraries, one landfill, six boiler plants, one wastewater treatment plant, 12 drinking water wells, 1,300 miles of roads, and 34 miles of railroad tracks. This infrastructure is tucked within Fort Lewis' approximately 86,000 acres.

Unlike a city, however, Fort Lewis' assigned population does not exclusively live on post. In fact, only about 30 percent of its Soldiers and military family members actually live on post. Most Fort Lewis Soldiers, civilian employees and family members live off-post. More than 35,000 Fort Lewis people live in Pierce County, while more than 14,000 Soldiers and civilians live in Thurston County. More than 6,500 Soldiers, family members and civilian employees live in Lacey alone.

Fort Lewis Highlights

Principle Units - I Corps (pronounced "First Corps") conducts Theatre Security Cooperation activities within the Pacific Command Area of Responsibility to accomplish US regional security objectives. I Corps generates trained and ready expeditionary forces for full spectrum employment. Its resident units include three Stryker Brigade Combat Teams, plus separate brigades of artillery, military police, medical, intelligence, engineer, and sustainment.

Madigan Army Medical Center

With a military beneficiary population encompassing a six-state region, Madigan Army Medical Center is one of the busiest hospitals in the Pacific Northwest. Occupying more than 120 acres of land, this four building facility is located at Fort Lewis, Washington.

Approximately 160,000 soldiers, family members and military retirees live in Madigan's 40-mile catchment area. Madigan's health care mission is executed by nearly 4,000 staff members, which include hundreds of civilian and military doctors, nurses, residents, interns, and fellows. Madigan also boats a robust internal American Red Cross program, which is supported by approximately 200 volunteers who donate thousands of hours of free service monthly.

As one of the Army's most state-of-the-art and technically advanced medical centers, Madigan is one of only three designated level-two trauma centers throughout the U.S. Medical Command (MEDCOM). Recently, Madigan's Andersen Simulation Center, which helps train thousands of doctors, nurses and medics each year, received a three year accreditation from the American College of Surgeons, becoming the only Defense Department medical educational institution to attain that status. Madigan's Simulation Center is one of only 21 surgical simulation centers in the United States to achieve a level one status, the highest for a center of surgical education excellence.

McChord Air Force Base

McChord is home to the 62nd Airlift Wing, 446th Airlift Wing (Air Force Reserve) and Western Air Defense Sector (Washington Air National Guard).

Both airlift wings fly the nation's newest strategic airlifter, the C-17 Globemaster III. The Western Air Defense Sector maintains responsibility for the air sovereignty of the western United States - about 63 percent of the continental United States.

McChord AFB's mission requirements range from supplying humanitarian airlift relief to victims of disasters, to airdropping troops and supplies into the heart of contingency operations in hostile areas, to ensuring homeland security.

The 62nd Airlift Wing, part of the Air Mobility Command, is the host unit at McChord. The 62nd AW, with 3,483 active-duty Airmen, provides the Department of Defense a fast, flexible and responsive airlift capability. The 62nd Airlift Wing, together with it's Reserve associate wind, the 466th AW, provides a large part of Air Mobility Command's Global Reach airlift capability.

The 446th AW is Washington State's only Air Force Reserve flying unit and is headquartered at McChord. The mission of the wing is to provide citizen warriors and maintain equipment to meet America's global airlift requirements.

Reservists in the 446th AW support the Air Mobility Command mission at McChord and around the world on a daily basis, performing about 25 percent of the mission of the base annually. The 2,400 strong 446th AW is nearly a mirror image of the active-duty host wing and blends seamlessly into active-duty operations when called upon.

This rapid, flexible and responsive air mobility promotes stability in regions by keeping America's capability and character highly visible.

The Western Air Defense Sector - a unit of the Washington Air National Guard - is responsible for the air sovereignty of the United States from the Red River Valley of North Dakota / Minnesota south to the Rio Grande and all points west. The Sector works in conjunction with elements of the regular US Air Force, the Canadian Air Force, the US Army and the US Navy to provide the earliest possible attack warning to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and our nation's leaders. WAD's peace-time mission includes assisting drug enforcement agencies by detecting, identifying and monitoring aircraft suspected of transporting drugs. They also provide training, equipment and personnel to meet the dynamic challenge of defense in the 21st century.