Fort Polk Fort Polk is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish , approximately ten miles east of Leesville , Louisiana , and thirty miles north of DeRidder in Beauregard Parish , Louisiana . It was named in honor of the Right Reverend Leonidas Polk , the first Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana , and a distinguished Confederate general in the American Civil War . The post encompasses approximately 198 , 000 acres . Of this , 100 , 000 acres are owned by the Department of the Army and 98 , 125 acres by the U . S . Forest Service , mostly in the Kisatchie National Forest . Fort Polk is the only Combat Training Center that also trains and deploys combat units . In 2013 , there were 10 , 877 troops stationed at Fort Polk , which generate an annual payroll of $ 980 million . Louisiana officials are lobbying the Army and the United States Congress to keep troop strength at full capacity despite looming defense cuts . Fort Polk began as a base for the Louisiana Maneuvers in the 1940s . It served the 1st Armored Division in the 1950s , and became a basic training post during Vietnam War years of the 1960s and ' 70s . It hosted the 5th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) in the 1970s - 1980s , and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the 1990s . Fort Polk is now home to the Joint Readiness Training Center ( JRTC ) , the 4th Brigade , 10th Mountain Division , 115th Combat Support Hospital , 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade , the 162nd Infantry Brigade , U . S . Army Garrison and Bayne - Jones Army Community Hospital . The land that is now Fort Polk is part of a region of cultural resources , including archaeological sites , historic houses and structures , and other sites of historical value . The U . S . Army has spent considerable time , effort , and money on locating , identifying , and inventorying thousands of archaeological sites on Fort Polk and the property owned by the U . S . Forest Service where the army trains . For more information on these cultural resources , visit Polk History . org . Current Events . Installation Strategic Sustainability Plan . Fort Polk is currently working with stakeholders from the Army , civic leaders , and other interested agencies to develop an Installation Strategic Sustainability Plan . As good stewards and neighbors , it is imperative that Fort Polk ' s long - term sustainability goals are consistent with the shared responsibilities of this installation and the surrounding communities . This plan , which is built on Fort Polk ’ s 25 year strategic goals , will effectively address sustainability issues that transcend our post boundaries and have regional or national interest . Fort Polk is paving the way for a new era in stewardship and integrated planning and considers this Installation Strategic Sustainability Plan to be a critical step in the continued viability of our shared resources . The areas of interest for the Installation Strategic Sustainability Plan are : Current Units . Operations Group . The Joint Readiness Training Center is focused on improving unit readiness by providing highly realistic , stressful , joint and combined arms training across the full spectrum of conflict ( current and future ) . The JRTC is one of the United States Army ’ s three “ Dirt ” Combat Training Centers resourced to train infantry brigade task forces and their subordinate elements in the Joint Contemporary Operational Environment . With great emphasis on realism , the JRTC Operations Group provides rotational units with the opportunity to conduct joint operations which emphasize contingency force missions . The JRTC training scenario is based on each participating organization ’ s mission essential tasks list and many of exercises are mission rehearsals for actual operations the organization is scheduled to conduct . JRTC scenarios allow complete integration of Air Force and other military services as well as host - nation and civilian role players . The exercise scenarios replicate many of the unique situations and challenges a unit may face to include host national officials and citizens , insurgents and terrorists , news media coverage and non - governmental organizations . 1 - 509th ( ABN ) Infantry . The mission of the Opposing Force is handled by the 1st Battalion , 509th Infantry ( Airborne ) . It is the job of the 1 - 509th ( ABN ) to conduct combat operations as a dedicated , capabilities - based Opposing Force ( OPFOR ) to provide realistic , stressful , and challenging combat conditions for JRTC rotational units . 4th Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division . The 4th Brigade Combat Team , 10th Mountain Division was officially activated at Fort Polk on January 19 , 2005 . As part of the U . S . Army ' s transformation initiative , this organization was designed to create a highly mobile , lethal , and flexible combat unit to support the rapid build - up of combat power wherever needed across the globe . The structure of the brigade is modular and provides for organic infantry , cavalry , field artillery , maintenance , logistic and support capabilities . The brigade was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2006 to 2007 then again for Operation Iraqi Freedom from December 2007 to January 2009 . The brigade deployed to Afghanistan in fall 2010 and returned to the U . S . in fall 2011 . Since the brigade ’ s activation , they built an organization consisting of over three thousand five hundred soldiers , developed their leaders , fielded dozens of new systems , and deployed whenever called upon to conduct any mission . 115th Combat Support Hospital . The 115th Combat Support Hospital traces its origin to Evacuation Hospital # 15 , originally organized at Fort Riley , Kansas on 21 March 1918 . At the onset of hostilities during World War I , the unit sailed aboard the " S . S . Mataika , " departing the United States on 22 August 1918 , and arriving in France 3 September 1918 . Evacuation Hospital # 15 earned a battle streamer for its participation in the Meuse - Argonne Forest offensive from 26 September 1918 through 11 November 1918 . The hospital , having served honorably and proud during World War I , returned to the United States aboard the " S . S . America " and was demobilized at Camp Lewis , Washington on 28 June 1919 . Evacuation Hospital # 15 was reconstituted as the 15th Evacuation Hospital in 1936 , after having been organized as an inactive unit of the Regular Army on 1 October 1933 . 115th Combat Support Hospital is a deployable medical unit that provides medical specialities to the battlefield . Medical specialties provided by the 115th Combat Support Hospital include : general surgery , orthopaedics , podiatry , and physical therapy . Additional support for clinical operations is provided through a pharmacy , X - ray services , clinical laboratories , anaesthesia , and operative services . The 115th Combat Support Hospital is also staffed to provide medical command management and administrative support through an organic medical headquarters . During peacetime operations the 115th Field Hospital trains at the JRTC and Fort Polk . As a deployable medical systems hospital with the most modern equipment available , the unit is capable of being deployed in an area of operations during a contingency , war or national emergency . 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade . 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is one of two U . S . Army active duty Maneuver Enhancement Brigades ( the 4th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is stationed at Fort Leonard Wood , MO ) . The 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is tasked to improve the movement capabilities and rear area security for commanders at division level or higher . The 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is a tailored combined arms force . Aside from its headquarters element and the organic communications and logistics elements that form the basis for commanding , controlling , and supporting the brigade , the 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is a mission , enemy , terrain and weather , troops and support available , time available , and civil considerations - dependent organization . The 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade leverages emerging modular principles and the “ plug - and - play ” nature of developing forces to apply the right force for the mission . Typically , but not exclusively , the MEB is composed of engineer , military police , chemical , air defense , and other units that routinely function together during protection , stability , and support operations . The 1st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade has deployed units for combat operations in Afghanistan , Iraq , and for humanitarian assistance in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake . 162nd Infantry Brigade . 162nd Infantry Brigade , Foreign Security Forces - Transition Team , is an Infantry Training Unit consisting of Soldiers handpicked for their skills , knowledge , and performance history . The brigade is responsible for training transition teams to deploying to Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn . U . S . forces are trained to prepare foreign civilian and military security forces within Afghanistan and Iraq for the transfer of security responsibilities back to the host nations . The Foreign Security Force Transition Team Training Brigade provides rotational units with the capability to provide training , coaching , and mentoring to the Afghanistan National Army and other Afghan Security forces in Afghanistan , and the Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq . Major subordinate commands of the brigade are the 1st Battalion , 353rd Regiment ; 2nd Battalion , 353rd Regiment ; 3rd Battalion , 353rd Regiment ; 4th Battalion , 353rd Regiment ; 5th Battalion , 353rd Regiment ; and 6th Battalion , 353rd Regiment . U . S . Army Garrison . U . S . Army Garrison provides installation support for power projection , combat readiness and mission execution for all tenant units as well as JRTC rotational units ; provides quality services and facilities , all the while optimizing available resources , sustaining our environment and enhancing the overall well - being of the Fort Polk community . U . S . Army Garrison provides installation support for Human Resources ; Morale , Welfare & Recreation ; Emergency Services ; Logistics ; Public Works ; Public Affairs ; Equal Opportunity ; and Plans , Training , Mobilization and Security . Bayne - Jones Army Community Hospital . Bayne - Jones Army Community Hospital provides accessible and effective health care for the JRTC and Fort Polk community . The Fort Polk medical facility compromises the Bayne - Jones Army Community Hospital , the Wellness and Readiness Center , the Department of Behavioural Health and the United States Army Air Ambulance Detachment . The hospital is named in honour of Brigadier General Stanhope Bayne - Jones , a native of New Orleans , Louisiana . A bacteriologist and preventive medicine specialist , he achieved worldwide acclaim as the individual responsible for the control of typhus in Europe at the conclusion of World War II . 1940s . World War II . Construction of Camp Polk began in 1941 . Thousands of wooden barracks sprang up quickly to support an Army preparing to do battle on the North African , European and Pacific fronts . Soldiers at Polk participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers , which were designed to test U . S . troops preparing for World War II . Until 1939 , the Army had mostly been an infantry force with supporting artillery , engineer , and cavalry units . Few units had been motorized or mechanized . As U . S . involvement in World War II became more likely , the Army recognized the need to modernize the service . But it also needed large - scale maneuvers to test a fast - growing , inexperienced force . That is where Fort Polk and the Louisiana Maneuvers came in . The Maneuvers involved half a million soldiers in 19 Army Divisions , and took place over in August and September 1941 . The troops were divided equal armies of two notional countries : Kotmk ( Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas , Missouri , Kentucky ) and Almat ( Arkansas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , Tennessee ) . These countries were fighting over navigation rights for the Mississippi River . The Maneuvers gave Army leadership the chance to test a new doctrine that stressed the need for both mass and mobility . Sixteen armored divisions sprang up during World War II after the lessons learned during the Louisiana Maneuvers were considered . These divisions specialized in moving huge combined - arms mechanized units long distances in combat . On the defensive front , U . S . doctrine was based on two needs : the ability to defeat Blitzkrieg tactics ; and how to deal with large numbers of German tanks attacking relatively narrow areas . As such , the Maneuvers also tested the concept of the tank destroyer . In this concept , highly mobile guns were held in reserve until friendly forces were attacked by enemy tanks . Then , the tank destroyers would be rapidly deploy to the flanks of the penetration . Tank destroyers employed aggressive , high - speed hit - and - run tactics . The conclusion drawn was that tank destroyer battalions should be raised . Immediately after the war , the battalions were disbanded and the anti - tank role was taken over by the Infantry , Engineer and Armor branches . German POWs . While primarily a training facility , Camp Polk also served as a military prison for Germans captured during World War II . The first prisoners of war ( POWs ) , who began arriving in Louisiana in July 1943 , were from the Afrika Korps , Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ’ s troops who fought in North Africa . They were housed in a large fenced - in compound in the area now encompassing Honor Field , Fort Polk ’ s parade ground . Finding themselves captured , transported across the ocean , and imprisoned in the middle of summer was made to hurt their spirits . The POWs picked cotton , cut rice , and cut lumber . They also helped sandbag the raging Red River in the summer of 1944 . Prisoners were not forced to work , and some refused . Those who worked earned scrip for their labor , with which they could buy such necessities as toothpaste or snacks at their own Post Exchange . From the end of World War II until the early 1960s , the post was closed and reopened numerous times . During much of this time , it was open only in the summers to support reserve component training . Soldiers were stationed there temporarily during the Korean War and the Berlin Crisis . 1950s . Korea . In August 1950 , the 45th Infantry Division of the Oklahoma Army National Guard became the first unit to train at Fort Polk in preparation for the Korean War . During the Korean War the 45th Infantry Division suffered 4 , 004 casualties ; 834 killed in action and 3 , 170 wounded in action The division was awarded four campaign streamers and one Presidential Unit Citation . Most of the units who rotated through Camp Polk during 1952 - 54 were trained for combat by the 37th Infantry Division of the Ohio Army National Guard . Although the 37th division itself was not sent to Korea as a unit , nearly every soldier was sent as an individual replacement . Operation Sagebrush . In 1955 , the U . S . military conducted another large training exercise that covered a substantial portion of Louisiana . Named Operation Sagebrush , the focus of this exercise was to evaluate the effectiveness of military operations in a nuclear environment . The exercise lasted for 15 days with 85 , 000 troops participating . A provisional army , meant to represent U . S . forces , was built around the 1st Armored Division and an opposing force was built around the 82nd Airborne Division . U . S . Air Force bombers and fighter planes also participated in this exercise with powerful aircraft operating in the sky , stirring great interest among the citizens of the region . 1st Armored Division . Upon completion of Operation Sagebrush , Camp was declared a permanent installation and the 1st Armored Division was reassigned from Fort Hood to the newly renamed Fort Polk to continue to test mobility and combat strategies for the nuclear age . The 1st Armored Division , with its modern M - 48 Patton Tanks and new helicopters , remained at Fort Polk until June 1959 , before returning to Fort Hood . 1960s - 1970s . Vietnam . In 1962 , Fort Polk began converting to an infantry training center . A small portion of Fort Polk is filled with dense , jungle - like vegetation , and this helped commanders prepare their units for battle in Southeast Asia . This training area became known as Tigerland . For the next 12 years , more soldiers were shipped to Vietnam from Fort Polk than from any other American training base . On Jan . 23 , 1973 , Secretary of State Henry Kissinger ’ s negotiated settlement to the hostilities took effect . In October 1974 , Fort Polk became the new home of the 5th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) , and basic training and AIT started being phased out . Fort Polk changed from a Continental Army Command ( CONARC ) post in July 1975 and became a Forces Command ( FORSCOM ) member . In the spring of 1976 , the Infantry Training Center at Fort Polk closed its doors and ceased operations . The final chapter of the Vietnam War ended for Fort Polk . 1970s - 1980s . With the end of the Vietnam War , Fort Polk experienced a transition from an installation focused on basic and advanced individual training to that of the home of the reactivated 5th Infantry Division ( Mechanized ) . Activated in September , 1975 , the division called Fort Polk home until it was inactivated in November , 1992 . The date of this inactivation , November 24 , 1992 , was exactly 75 years from the date of the original activation of the division on November 24 , 1917 . The division was organized with two active duty brigades and a brigade from the Louisiana National Guard . While at Fort Polk , the 5th Infantry Division participated in the NATO Reforger 78 and 84 Exercise in Europe and the 1989 Invasion of Panama , known as Operation Just Cause . During the stay of the 5th infantry Division ( Mechanized ) , Fort Polk experienced a major building program . The post saw the construction of new barracks , motor pools , 1000 family housing units , chapels , dental clinics and the Bayne - Jones Army Community Hospital . Also built during this time was a modern Post Exchange commissary , warehouses , classrooms , athletic complexes and improved gunnery ranges . 1990s . JRTC moves to Polk . In 1993 , the Joint Readiness Training Center moved from Fort Chaffee , Arkansas , to Fort Polk , and once again , the post was called on to prepare soldiers for conflict . Each year , JRTC typically conducts several rotations for units about to deploy . During the 1990s , Fort Polk - based soldiers deployed to Haiti , Southwest Asia , Suriname , Panama , Bosnia , and other locations . Weather support for the exercise is completed by the units participating in the exercise in conjunction with the 26th Operational Weather Squadron . 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment . The 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment arrived at Fort Polk in 1993 as the armored cavalry regiment of the XVIII Airborne Corps . Elements of the regiment deployed to Haiti in 1995 in support of Operation Uphold Democracy and to Bosnia in 1996 in support of Operation Joint Endeavor . The 2nd ACR deployed to Kuwait , Qatar , Jordan and Djibouti in 2002 to in support of Operation Enduring Freedom , and then deployed in Iraq in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom ( now known as Operation New Dawn ) . The Army announced on 14 May 2004 , that the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment would be transformed into an Infantry - based Stryker Brigade and move to Fort Lewis , WA . The transfer of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment from Fort Polk to Fort Lewis was completed in 2006 . The 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment were later moved to Vilseck , Germany . National Guard . The Louisiana Army National Guard maintains a maintenance facility on Fort Polk which services its major units such as the 256TH IBCT and 225 Engineer Brigade .