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Fort Rucker 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 ...
post located primarily in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was formerly named in honor of Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, an Army aviator and Medal of Honor recipient. It was previously named for a
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
officer, Confederate Colonel Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training installation for U.S. Army Aviators and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE) and the United States Army Aviation Museum. Small sections of the post also lie in
Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
,
Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, and
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
counties. Part of the Dale County section of the base is a
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 ...
; its population was 4,636 at the 2010 census. The main post has entrances from three bordering cities, Daleville, Ozark and
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...
. In the years before the
September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
, the main post (except airfields and other restricted areas) was an open post with unmanned gates allowing civilians to drive through. Following the attacks, this policy was changed, and the post is now closed to unauthorized traffic and visitors. It was one of the U.S. Army installations named for Confederate soldiers that was recommended for renaming by The Naming Commission. Their recommendation was that the post be renamed Fort Novosel. The Naming Commission (Aug 2022
Recommendation
On 5 January 2023 William A. LaPlante, U.S. under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment ( USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.(5 January 2023) Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder Holds an On-Camera Press Briefing
/ref> The post was redesignated Fort Novosel on 10 April 2023. An order by President Donald Trump in June 2025 announced plans to rename the base again for WWI Aviator Edward Rucker. The base was redesignated Fort Rucker on 11 June 2025.


Military facilities

The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence is the dominant military facility at Fort Rucker. Training,
doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...
, 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
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
(USAF) and ally helicopter pilots and air crew. The center was home to the U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center (ATTC), which conducts developmental aircraft testing for Army Aviation. In 2005, as part of the Base Re-alignment and Closure ( BRAC) decision, ATTC was moved north to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, and combined with the Redstone Technical Test Center to form the Redstone Test Center. The United States Army Operational Test and Evaluation Command's Test and Evaluation Coordination Office and TH-67 Creek primary and instrument training are both located at Cairns Army Airfield. The last TH-67 was retired in 2021 as the Army moved to the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota as its trainer aircraft. Operational units on the post include the 1st Aviation Brigade and the 110th Aviation Brigade handling Army Aviation training, and the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
23d Flying Training Squadron for the training of Air Force helicopter pilots and air crew. The 110th Aviation Brigade consists of four battalions using three different sites. 1st Battalion, 11th Aviation Regiment, operates and manages air traffic control services for USAACe/Fort Novosel and the National Airspace System. 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment trains future air traffic controllers and aviation operations specialists who have recently graduated
United States Army Basic Training United States Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) is the recruit training program of the United States Army, for service in the United States Army, U.S. Army, United States Army Reserve, U.S. Army Reserve, or the Army National Guard. Some trainees ...
, or are transferring from another Military Occupational Specialty. 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment operates from Hanchey Army Heliport and conducts graduate level training using the AH-64E Apache Longbow helicopters. 1st Battalion, 212th Aviation Regiment operates from Lowe Army Heliport and Shell Army Heliport and conducts combat and night operational training, using the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. 1st Battalion, 223d Aviation Regiment operates from Cairns Army Airfield and Shell Army Heliport flying the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota for introductory helicopter pilot training, and Knox Army Heliport for training pilots who fly the
CH-47 Chinook The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a Military transport helicopter, heav ...
helicopter. Additionally, due to the large number of
warrant officers Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...
stationed there, the Warrant Officer Candidate School and Warrant Officer Career College are both located at Fort Rucker.
Aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...
branched warrant officers remain at Fort Rucker to complete flight training and the Aviation Warrant Officer Basic Course. Upon completion of their training, aviation warrant officers receive the Army Aviator Badge. 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, United States Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center and Army Aviation Museum.


History

The original name of the post was Ozark Triangular Division Camp, but before the camp was officially opened 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 ...
on 1 May 1942, the War Department named it Camp Rucker. The post was named in honor of Colonel
Edmund W. Rucker Edmund Winchester Rucker (July 22, 1835 – April 13, 1924) was a Confederate States Army, Confederate officer during the American Civil War. After the war he became an industrial leader of Birmingham, Alabama. Fort Rucker in Alabama was named in ...
, a Civil War Confederate officer, who was given the honorary title of "General," and who became an industrial leader in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
after the war. Fort Novosel (situated on of sub-marginal farmland, and formerly a wildlife refuge) was opened on 1 May 1942 as "Camp Rucker". It had quarters for 3,280 officers and 39,461 enlisted personnel. In September 1942, 1,259 additional acres south of Daleville were acquired to construct an airfield to support the training camp. It was known as Ozark Army Airfield until January 1959, when the name was changed to Cairns Army Airfield. The first troops to train at Camp Rucker were those of the 81st Infantry Division; the 81st Division left Rucker for action in the Pacific Theater in March 1943. Three other infantry divisions received training at Camp Rucker during the war—the 35th, the 98th, and the 66th. The 66th (Panther) Division was the last division to train at the post during WW II, and left for the
European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...
in October 1944. Camp Rucker was also used to train dozens of units of less than division size; these included tank, infantry replacement, and
Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...
units. During the latter part of World War II, several hundred German and a few Italian prisoners of war were housed in stockades near the railroad east of the warehouse area, on the southern edge of the post. The 91st Infantry Division was sent to Camp Rucker at the war's end, inactivating in December 1945. Camp Rucker was inactive from March 1946 until August 1950. It was reopened during 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 ...
. The Minnesota Army National Guard's 47th Infantry Division was mobilized and sent to Camp Rucker in the fall of 1950; the division provided cadre that would conduct basic training of soldiers, who would later on, be sent as replacements to units in Korea. The 47th Infantry Division would remain at Camp Rucker throughout the war. After another short deactivation, it reopened and expanded when it became a helicopter training base. The name was changed to "Fort Rucker" in October 1955. The Hanchey Army Airfield 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. Fort Rucker suffered damage from three significant
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
es within two years in 1972 and 1973. The first, rated F2, struck on 13 January 1972. It damaged buildings and helicopters on the post and devastated two nearby trailer parks, killing four people and injuring 88, all army dependents. An F3 tornado struck the post on 29 December 1973, causing minor damage to residences and striking a tank storage area. Most of the significant damage from this storm was in the Enterprise area. A second F3 tornado hit a day later, heavily damaging 30 government and residential buildings at Fort Rucker, 5 of which were destroyed. Twenty-three people were injured.


Renaming

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act calls for the establishment of an eight-person committee to develop a plan to remove all names, symbols, displays, and monuments that honor or commemorate the Confederacy from all Department of Defense assets, including the former Fort Rucker. In 2021, the family of
Hal Moore Harold Gregory Moore Jr. (February 13, 1922 – February 10, 2017) was a United States Army Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general and author. As a Lieutenant colonel (United States), lieutenant colonel, he commanded the 1st Bat ...
started a petition to rename the fort in honor of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first black brigadier general in the USAF. The Naming Commission later recommended that the fort be renamed in honor of Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, an Army aviator. The post was officially renamed on 10 April 2023. The post was renamed again in June 2025 for Edward Rucker, an aviator in WWI.


Geography

Fort Novosel is located at 31°20'37" north, 85°42'29" west (31.343654, -85.707995). 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 area of the base has a total area of 10.9 square miles (28.2 km), of which 10.9 square miles (28.2 km) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km) (0.18%) is water.


Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 6,052 people, 1,399 households, and 1,347 families residing on the base. The population density was . There were 1,544 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the base was 68.5% White, 18.1% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.7% Pacific Islander, 5.3% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 11.7% of the population. There were 1,399 households, out of which 79.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 85.4% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 3.7% were non-families. 3.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 0.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.47 and the average family size was 3.51. On the base the population was 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 were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24 years. For every 100 females, there were 131.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 145.1 males. The median income for a household on the base was $34,603, and the median income for a family was $33,664. Males had a median income of $29,321 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income was $14,495. About 6.1% of families and 7.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.7% of those 65 and older.


Education

Fort Rucker is in the
Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...
(DoDEA) as its local school district. Ellis D. Parker Elementary School is the on-post school. The school opened in 2020, and is named after Ellis D. Parker. The 2020 building replaced a previous school building. The 2020 facility has three stories. Students beyond the elementary level may attend non-DoDEA schools for secondary levels, with an on-post family choosing one of the following three options: Daleville City School System, Enterprise City School System, or Ozark City Schools. Enterprise operates Enterprise High School and Ozark operates Carroll High School.


Notable people

* Leonard Byrd, sprinter * Mayte Garcia, dancer and singer, ex-wife of
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
* Brian Gay, professional golfer * James Forbes, basketball player *
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
, former
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...
; spent time as an enlisted man assigned to Fort Rucker * Rusty Greer, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...
* James Hong, Army National Guard, Special Services (entertainment) 1952–53 * Edgar Jones, former
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
player *
Kris Kristofferson Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
, American singer, songwriter and actor. "After joining the Army, Kristofferson received flight instruction at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and became a helicopter pilot. He also successfully completed one of the military's most physically challenging courses: Ranger School." * Hal Morris, former Major League Baseball
first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
* Blake Percival, whistleblower; spent time as an enlisted man assigned to Fort Rucker * Jeffrey N. Steenson,
prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
of the Roman
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
; currently serves as the first ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter


References


External links

*
Ft. Novosel authorized military newspaper website

Army Aviation Museum



Das Pw-Echo (Camp Rucker, Ala.) 1945-194?
prisoner of war newspaper circulated at Camp Rucker {{authority control * 1942 establishments in Alabama Novosel Novosel Novosel Novosel Buildings and structures in Coffee County, Alabama Buildings and structures in Dale County, Alabama Enterprise–Ozark micropolitan area Buildings and structures in Geneva County, Alabama Buildings and structures in Houston County, Alabama Census-designated places in Alabama Census-designated places in Dale County, Alabama Novosel