Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U . S . Army post located in suburban Lawrence , Indiana , northeast of Indianapolis . It is named for the 23rd United States President , Benjamin Harrison . Land was purchased in 1903 , with the post being officially named for President Harrison in honor of Indianapolis being his hometown . In 1901 , former President Benjamin Harrison ' s son Russell through lobbying efforts sold a nearby U . S . Arsenal where the U . S . Army used the money to buy land where the fort is located today . Fort Benjamin Harrison saw its highest level of activity during World War I and World War II . The Fort Benjamin Harrison Reception Center opened in 1941 and was the largest reception center in the United States by 1943 . Within Fort Harrison was Camp Glenn , named in honor of Major General Edwin Forbes Glenn , who had served as Fort Harrison ' s commandant from 1912 – 1913 , and who commanded the officer training that began at his camps in 1916 . Camp Glenn was a Citizens Military Training Camp ( CMTC ) that was also used to house Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCC ) workers . When the United States reestablished the Military Police Corps in 1941 , an MP school was established at Camp Glenn and was operation by early 1942 . The area was also used to detain Italian and German prisoners of war in 1944 and 1945 . In 1947 , the Army declared Fort Harrison to be surplus property , but declined to completely close the fort due to a lack of adequate training space for the Indiana National Guard . From 1948 to 1950 , the post functioned as Benjamin Harrison Air Force Base . The Tenth Air Force was moved from Omaha , Nebraska and headquartered at Schoen Field on Fort Harrison , as well as Stout Army Air Field in Indianapolis . Overcrowding and inadequate facilities soon forced the 10th Air Force to move to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Michigan , and the Army reacquired control of Fort Benjamin Harrison . The Interservice Postal School was located at Fort Benjamin Harrison in the 1970s under the US Army Institute of Administration ( USAIA ) , and was staffed by instructors from all four services . It moved to Fort Jackson in South Carolina in 1995 . Beginning in 1965 , it was also home of the Defense Information School ( DINFOS ) . This was staffed by enlisted personnel and officers from all branches of the US military along with members of allied military personnel . DINFOS trained print , radio and television personnel to report all manner of military activities . DINFOS moved in 1995 to Fort Meade , Maryland . The Fort was the site of the Athletes ' Villages for the 1987 Pan American Games . New barracks were built to house the athletes just before the games kicked off . Those barracks were torn down a few years after the base was closed . Since 1990 . Fort Benjamin Harrison was closed as part of the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission . The site of the base has since been redeveloped , and includes residential neighborhoods , a golf course , and is the site of Fort Harrison State Park . Although the base has officially been inactivated , there is still a very significant military presence in the area . The Defense Finance and Accounting Service — Indianapolis , several Army Reserve and Indiana National Guard units , and a post exchange and commissary are still located at the former post . On May 29 , 2009 , the Indiana National Guard held a ground - breaking ceremony for a new facility to be erected at Fort Benjamin Harrison , the Lawrence Readiness Training Center , which opened in 2011 . The facility will house four units , including the 76th Brigade Combat Team headquarters .