Fort Hood

Fort Hood is a military base that was named after the Confederate General John Bell Hood and is located just on the edge of the city of Killeen in the state of Texas. It is among the largest United States military installations worldwide and is home to many units, such as the 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Infantry Division, Command III Corps, 504th Military Intelligence Brigade, 21st Cavalry Brigade Air Combat and much more.

Tank Destroyer Testing and Training Post

Because of the abundance of open land, the post was originally established by the war department in 1942 as a large training and testing site for the tank destroyers used in World War II. These tanks were created to use in defense against Germany’s mobile armored divisions. The earliest provisions offered housing and training locations for just under 38,000 troops and continued to grow and expand from thereon. Throughout the times of war, Fort Hood was also home to about 4,000 prisoners of war.

Fort Hoods War Involvement

After the waning of Tank destroyer training in 1944, Fort Hood soon became a training center for ground infantry and artillery troops. The post was involved in many wars, including the World War II, Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam War and the Operation Desert Storm War. Fort Hood units continued to serve the Persian Gulf area after the war ended and commanded the Operation Restore Hope. Numerous troops were sent to the Iraq War and the 4th Infantry Division from the Fort Hood base captured Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Equipment Testing

In the early 1970s, the base took on a vast role in the training and testing of the latest equipment, procedures and administrations. The various Fort Hood units continued to play a huge part in in the handling of military equipment, such as the M1 Abrams Tank, Multiple Launch Rocket System, AH-64 Apache Helicopter, M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank, M2A2 Operation Desert Storm and Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

Housing in the Fort Hood Community

Plenty of quality housing is available for soldiers and their families in the Fort Hood area, and all of the information is readily available at the Fort Hood Housing Referral Office. Living in base housing is not required, with the exception of staff designated to specific crucial positions, as assigned via the Installation Commander. The housing office aids in finding suitable rental housing in nearby neighborhoods by providing soldiers and families with a room of self-service means for finding housing.

The information and services offered include:

• Internet access
• Public phone services
• Information on vacancies in the area
• Low-income housing available
• VA purchases
• List of schools
• Food stamps and WIC office locations

Soldiers with families whom want to apply for base housing have thirty days to apply from the date they sign into Fort Hood, which allows for eligibility from the date departed from the previous last permanent duty station. However, if the application is not submitted within the thirty days, the date applied becomes the eligibility date.

Fort Hood Schools

The schools at the Fort Hood are run by the Killeen Independent School District where the Military Child Education Coalition oversees the students’ post transition. Children entering kindergarten need to be five years old on or before the first day of September of the school year. The Fort Hood Post has seven elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools.

Lodging in the Fort Hood Vicinity

Fort Hood presents temporary lodging accommodations at three base army hotels, which include the 5700 SERIES, POXON HOUSE and HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS. Some of the amenities offered are shuttle service, fitness room, tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, laundry facilities, public family kitchens, free local calls, in room coffeemaker, refrigerator and microwave, cable TV and maid service.