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Fort Lewis 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 ...
base located south-southwest of
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...
. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on February 1, 2010, to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after
Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...
of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
, was one of the largest and most modern military reservations in the United States, consisting of of
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
land cut from the
glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
-flattened Nisqually Plain. It is the premier military installation in the northwest and the most requested duty station in the Army. Joint Base Lewis-McChord (Fort Lewis) is a major Army installation, with much of the 2nd Infantry Division in residence, along with Headquarters, the 7th Infantry Division, 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and the 1st Special Forces Group. However, the Headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division is primarily a garrison management body. Fort Lewis's geographic location provides rapid access to the deep-water ports of Tacoma, Olympia, and
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
for deploying equipment. Units can be deployed from McChord Field, and individuals and small groups can also use the nearby Sea-Tac Airport. The strategic location of the base provides Air Force units with the ability to conduct combat and humanitarian airlifts with the
C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...
.Joint Base Lewis-McChord official website
/ref>


Joint Base Garrison

The Joint Base Garrison operates the installation on behalf of the warfighting units, families, and extended military community who depend on JBLM for support. The mission of the unit is to provide support to mission commanders and the joint base community, to serve as an enabler to the soldiers as they train and project America's combat power, and to make JBLM the station of choice for American soldiers and their families. With an Army joint base commander and an
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
deputy joint base commander, the garrison supports the installation through directorates and agencies that provide a full range of city services and quality-of-life functions, everything from facility maintenance, recreation, and family programs to training support and emergency services. The major organizations that make up the bulk of the Joint Base Garrison include: * Directorates of Public Works: Logistics * Family and Morale, Welfare, and Recreation * Human Resources; Emergency Services * Plans and Training Security and Plans Additional staff offices that support the installation mission include the Joint Base Public Affairs Office, the Religious Support Office, the Resource Management Office, the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, the Installation Safety Office, and the Plans, Analysis, and Integration Office. Other partners who work closely with the Joint Base Garrison include the Civilian Personnel Advisory Center, the Mission and Installation Contracting Command, and the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office. Three military units support the Joint Base Garrison. * 627th Air Base Group : Provides command and control and administrative oversight to the Airmen who perform installation support duties on behalf of the garrison. * Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Joint Base Garrison : Provides administrative oversight to the Army personnel in the garrison and supports newly arrived soldiers during their in-processing period. JBLM Soldiers receive medical care through on-base Madigan Healthcare System facilities such as the Madigan Army Medical Center, the Okubo Clinic, and the Nisqually Clinic. JBLM Airmen receive medical care at the McChord Clinic as well as the Madigan Army Medical Center.


JBLM Main and JBLM North

JBLM has more than 25,000 soldiers and civilian workers. The post supports over 120,000 military retirees and more than 29,000 family members living both on and off-post. Fort Lewis proper contains , and the Yakima Training Center covers . JBLM Main & North have abundant, high-quality, close-in training areas, including 115 live fire ranges. Additional training space is available at the Yakima Training Center in eastern Washington, including maneuver areas and additional live fire ranges. In 2009, the former Fort Lewis Regional Correction Facility was remodeled and renamed the Northwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility (NWJRCF). The facility houses minimum- and medium-security prisoners from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces.''Northwest Guardian''
/ref> Also adjacent to the post is Camp Murray ( Washington National Guard).


History

Fort Lewis was originally established in 1917 with the passage of a Pierce County bond measure to purchase of land to donate to the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
for permanent use as a military installation. A portion of the initial land was taken from the Nisqually tribe's reservation. (The Nisqually people would later petition unsuccessfully for the return of this land.) In 1927, Pierce County passed another bond measure to establish a military airfield just north of Fort Lewis. The airfield, called Tacoma Field, opened in 1930 and was renamed McChord Field in 1940. McChord Field separated from Fort Lewis when the U.S. Air Force was created in 1947 and was subsequently renamed McChord Air Force Base. The two bases operated independently of one another for more than 60 years before merging in 2010. Fort Lewis began as Camp Lewis in 1917, when the citizens of Pierce County voted by an eight-to-one margin to bond themselves for to buy of land. They donated the land to the federal government for military use. The only stipulation was that the tract be used as a permanent army post. Captain David L. Stone and his staff arrived at the camp site on May 26, 1917, and a few days later the initial construction began. As work on the camp was pushing forward, the War Department named it "Camp Lewis" after
Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...
of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The entire camp was ready for occupancy a month ahead of schedule. In 90 days, Stone had supervised the construction of a "city" of 757 buildings and 422 other structures, all lighted and heated for 60,000 men. The first recruits moved into their new barracks on September 5, 1917, exactly two months after the post building plan had been handed to the contractors. When they implemented the auction of the new cantonment, workmen subscribed for $4,000 to build the main gate, which is still standing. The arch was built of
fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...
and squared logs, resembling the old
blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
s that stood in the northwest as forts. Some 60,000 men, including the 13th and 91st Divisions, moved into the hastily constructed cantonment to train for World War I. Recruited largely from the northwest, the 91st was considered "Washington's Own." In 1917, Pierce County, through the process of condemnation proceedings (eminent domain), took of the Nisqually Indian Reservation (14 km2) for the Fort Lewis Military Reserve. The following two years saw tremendous activity at Camp Lewis as men mobilized and trained for war service. With the conclusion of the war, activities at Lewis ground to a standstill. Camp Lewis passed from the hands of Pierce County and became the property of the federal government when the deed for 62,432 acres (253 km2) was recorded in the county auditor's office in Tacoma. When
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
ended in 1918, the Nisqually people petitioned for their land to be returned to them, but the request was denied by the
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
, Newton Baker. Brigadier General David L. Stone, who had supervised the original construction of Fort Lewis as a captain, returned as its commanding general in 1936, serving until 1937. The project of constructing an army airfield, which later became McChord Air Force Base, directly north of the Fort Lewis installation, received approval as a WPA project in January 1938, and $61,730 was allocated for construction. The allocation provided for clearing, grading, and leveling a runway long by wide. From 1942 to 1943, 42 Japanese,
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
Americans were held at Fort Lewis as part of the government's "enemy alien" internment program 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 ...
. The Japanese and Italian internees were transferred to Fort Missoula and the Germans to Fort Lincoln, and the temporary detention facility closed on March 30, 1943. Italian prisoners of war, organized into units, were trained as quartermaster units at Fort Lewis since, after Italy surrendered to the Allies and declared war on Germany, they were not strictly held to the work requirements that prohibited prisoners of war from working on items directly headed for the war or in the war effort. At the conclusion of World War II, the northwest staging area of Fort Lewis became a separation center and discharged its first soldiers in October 1945. Sometime in the early 1960s,
Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...
was built through the fort, separating the northwest corner of the fort and creating "Northfort". With the departure of the
4th Infantry Division (United States) The 4th Infantry Division is a Division (military), division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams (two Stryker and one armor), a combat avia ...
for Vietnam in 1966, Fort Lewis once again became a personnel transfer and training center. David H. Hackworth described his service commanding a training battalion at the Fort during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
in his memoir "About Face". In 1972, the 9th Infantry Division (United States) was reactivated and trained there until its deactivation in 1991. The Fort Lewis Military Museum was established in 1972 to preserve and document the post's history. The base received much media attention in the wake of the Kandahar massacre, committed by a Fort Lewis soldier in March 2012. The 1st Joint Mobilization Brigade disbanded in late May 2014. It previously controlled and provided host unit support for mobilizing, deploying, and demobilizing reserve component units from all the U.S. military services. The unit began as the 2122st Garrison Support Unit (Army Reserve), overseeing the mobilization of about 27,000 Soldiers. The group of fewer than a dozen personnel mobilized about 15,000 soldiers within three weeks at the start of the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
. The unit was redesignated the 654th Area Support Group (Forward) in May 2004 and the 1st JMB in March 2007. Training and mobilization validation moved to individual units (instead of the 1st JMB) in 2011.


Major units

The United States Army's I Corps commands most Army units at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and conducts planning and liaison with other assigned active and Reserve component units in the continental United States. It is one of the active Army's contingency corps. I Corps stays prepared to deploy on short notice worldwide to command up to five divisions or a joint task force.Joint Base Lewis-McChord I Corps history
/ref> In 1981, the I Corps was reactivated at Fort Lewis. On October 12, 1999, General Eric K. Shinseki, Chief of Staff of the Army, announced I Corps would lead the acceleration of Army transformation, training, and the initial creation of the first two
Stryker Brigade Combat Team The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic Military deployment, deployable Military unit, unit of maneuver in the United States Army, U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver Brigade (United States Army), b ...
s at Fort Lewis. Since September 11, 2001, I Corps and Fort Lewis assets have been active in providing support for Global War on Terrorism operations, including
Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...
(Homeland Defense),
Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...
(Afghanistan), and the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. On February 5, 2004, Task Force Olympia was activated as a sub-element of I Corps headquarters with the mission to command forward-deployed units in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. This marked the first time that I Corps had forward soldiers in combat since the end of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
. Task Force Olympia included units from all three components of the Army (Active, Reserve, and National Guard) as well as Marine and
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...
officers. Task Force Olympia's subordinate units included the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, which deployed for Iraq on November 8, 2003, and returned to Fort Lewis after one year of combat duty, and the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, which departed Fort Lewis on September 15, 2004, for one year, and returned in September 2005. On June 1, 2006, the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, changed its name and became the 2d Cavalry Regiment, Stryker Brigade Combat Team, with its home station in Germany. A new unit then unveiled the colors of its new designation on June 1, 2006: the 4th Brigade, 2d Infantry Division. Subordinate units assigned to Fort Lewis are: * 7th Infantry Division ** 1st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division ** 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division ** 17th Field Artillery Brigade ** 16th Combat Aviation Brigade ** 201st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade ** 555th Engineer Brigade * 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command ** 42nd Military Police Brigade ** 62nd Medical Brigade * Henry H. Lind Noncommissioned Officer Academy * 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) * 2nd Battalion,
75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the United States Army Rangers, Army Rangers, is the United States Army Special Operations Command's premier light infantry and direct-action raid force. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint S ...
* 66th Theater Aviation Command * 4th Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) * 404th Army Field Support Brigade * Eighth Brigade, U.S. Army Cadet Command (ROTC) * 189th Infantry Brigade (First Army, DIVWEST) * 191st Infantry Brigade (inactivation ceremony held on 8 January 2014) * Headquarters, 6th Military Police Group (CID) * Washington Regional Flight Center * Western Regional Medical Command * Public Health Command Region-West * The KIM Dental Activity * The Veterinary Treatment Facility


JBLM Main and JBLM North

JBLM has more than 25,000 soldiers and civilian workers. The post supports over 120,000 military retirees and more than 29,000 family members living both on and off-post. Fort Lewis proper contains 86,000 acres (350 km2), the Yakima Training Center covers 324,000 acres (1,310 km2). JBLM Main & North have abundant, high-quality, close-in training areas, including 115 live fire ranges. Additional training space is available at the Yakima Training Center in eastern Washington, including maneuver areas and additional live fire ranges. In 2009, the former Fort Lewis Regional Correction Facility was remodeled and renamed the Northwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility (NWJRCF). The facility houses minimum- and medium-security prisoners from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. During the summer months (June, July, and August), JBLM North hosts the
Leader Development and Assessment Course The Leadership Development and Assessment Course is the centerpiece of the US Army's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program. Since the 1950s, the Army has called it "Advanced Camp"; it is currently known as "Warrior Forge". It is conducte ...
, a capstone program for the U.S. Army's
ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC; or ) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. While ROTC graduate officers serve in all branches o ...
program. Also adjacent to the post is Camp Murray ( Washington National Guard).


Yakima Training Center

The Yakima Training Center is a major sub-installation of JBLM and provides a full range of training lands and ranges to active and reserve component units. Encompassing more than , YTC is a world-class facility. The training center is in the high desert and is covered with sagebrush, volcanic formations, dry gulches, and large rock outcroppings. YTC has vast flat valleys separated by intervening ridges that are suited to large-scale mechanized or motorized forces. Much of the steeper terrain resembles areas of Afghanistan. Twenty-five ranges, including the state-of-the-art Multi-Purpose Range Complex and Shoot House, are available for individual or collective training. Prior to 1941, the area consisted of ranches and a few scattered silica mines. Just before World War II, the Army's need for a large training and maneuver area became apparent, and the Army negotiated with landowners to lease for the Yakima Anti-Aircraft Artillery Range. Military organizations in the Pacific Northwest used the center for range firing and small unit tests. The first range was constructed in 1942 on Umtanum Ridge, northeast of the present cantonment area. In 1947, approximately were cleared of unexploded ammunition and returned to the original owners. During 1949 and 1950, the state of Washington used the center for summer training of its National Guard units, and regular Army troops were permanently assigned to the center. At the start of the Korean War, the Army decided to expand the Yakima Training Center. In 1951, the Installation was enlarged to , and construction of the current cantonment area began. In 1986, a further expansion was initiated, and in 1992, the Army acquired additional land to enlarge YTC to . The Multi-Purpose Range Complex opened in 1989, and the Shoot House and Urban Assault Course opened in 2005. YTC has an AAFES shopette, a recreation center, and a gymnasium available to soldiers and their families. The Firing Point community club, with cafeteria, opened in February 2009.


Gray Army Airfield

Gray Army Airfield is a military
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
located within Fort Lewis. The field is named in honor of Captain Lawrence C. Gray, who died during a free balloon flight at the field on November 4, 1927. The field is now used by Army helicopters.Gray Army Airfield
/ref> Helicopters based at the airfield assisted with medical evacuations at
Mount Rainier National Park Mount Rainier National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in southeast Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County and northeast Lewis County, Washington, Lewis County in Washington (sta ...
on numerous occasions in the 1970s. Army helicopters were also used to insert search-and-rescue ARteams into inaccessible areas on the east, north, and west sides of the mountain, lowering rangers to the ground by a cable device known as a "jungle penetrator". Helicopters began assisting with high-altitude (above 10,000 feet) SAR operations in the 1980s. Helicopters were also used for "short haul" rescue operations, in which a ranger and litter were carried in a sling below the helicopter to the scene of the accident. During World War II, the Air Transport Command's 4131st Army Air Force Base Unit used GAAF as the
CONUS ''Conus'' is a genus of venomous and predatory cone snails.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&i ...
hub for the Alaskan West Coast Wing, ferrying supplies, equipment, and aircraft to the
Eleventh Air Force The Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska.This unit is not related to the Eleventh Air Force headquart ...
at Elmendorf Field, near Anchorage. Also used by
Air Technical Service Command An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
as an aircraft maintenance and supply depot, primarily to service aircraft being sent to
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
. The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of 15.9 square miles (41.2 km2), of which 15.3 square miles (39.6 km2) are land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) are water. The total area is 3.78% water. The military base is, as previously stated, much larger than the CDP defined by the Census Bureau. Fort Lewis' terrain is primarily a mixture of dense conifer woods and open Puget prairie- garry oak woodlands. Invasive Scotch Broom has taken over many areas. The landscape is very rocky from glacial meltwater deposits.
Poison oak Poison oak refers to two plant species in the genus '' Toxicodendron,'' both of which can cause skin irritation: *'' Toxicodendron diversilobum'' or Pacific poison oak, found in western North America *'' Toxicodendron pubescens'' or Atlantic po ...
is found in the training areas.
Canada Thistle ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...
grows thickly in some areas. All trees are to be left standing; post policy prohibits cutting or trimming them. The temperatures during summer vary from the mid-40s at night to the mid-70s during the day, occasionally peaking over . Although July and August are the driest months. Fort Lewis, due to its size and reserved land, serves as an important habitat for amphibian development and study.


Demographics

The
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 ...
(CDP) Fort Lewis is located within the installation's area.Map of Fort Lewis CDP vs. Fort Lewis Military Reservation
U.S. Census Bureau
As of the 2000 census, the CDP, which includes the most densely populated part of the base, had a total population of 19,089. As of the census of 2000, there were 19,089 people, 3,476 households, and 3,399 families residing on the base. The population density was 1,248.5 people per square mile (482.0/km2). There were 3,560 housing units at an average density of 232.8 per square mile (89.9/km2). The racial makeup of the base was 60.4%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 20.3%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.4% Native American, 3.4% Asian, 1.8%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 6.2% from other races, and 6.4% from two or more races. 13.1% of the population were
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race. There were 3,476 households, out of which 85.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 89.3% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 2.2% were non-families. Of all households, 2.0% were made up of individuals, and 0.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.75, and the average family size was 3.78. The age distribution was 32.1% under the age of 18, 28.0% from 18 to 24, 37.5% from 25 to 44, 2.0% from 45 to 64, and 0.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 168.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 212.5 males. All these statistics were typical for military bases. The median income for a household on the base was $32,384, and the median income for a family was $32,251. Males had a median income of $20,878 versus $20,086 for females. The per capita income for the base was $12,865. 8.2% of the population and 7.1% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.7% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.


See also

* 91st Division Monument


References


Further reading

* Alan Archambault. ''Fort Lewis'', Arcadia Publishing, 2002. .


External links


Official Joint Base Lewis-McChord homepageArmy history at Joint Base Lewis-McChordJBLM Morale, Welfare and Recreation3rd Brigade / 2nd Infantry Division
homepage
5th Brigade / 2nd Infantry Division
homepage
42nd Military Police Brigade
homepage

*
Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
(HABS) documentation, filed under DuPont, Pierce County, WA: ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Lewis Installations of the United States Army in Washington (state) Lewis Buildings and structures in Pierce County, Washington Buildings and structures in Thurston County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state) Historic American Buildings Survey in Washington (state) Populated places in Pierce County, Washington Populated places in Thurston County, Washington Military installations established in 1917 Populated places established in 1917 1917 establishments in Washington (state) Military Superfund sites Superfund sites in Washington (state) Joint Base Lewis–McChord