It is used year-round for military training of both active and reserve troops of the ⚠Army, ⚠Navy, ⚠Marines, and ⚠Air Force, as well as other government agencies. These include the ⚠Departments of State and ⚠Interior; ⚠U.S. Customs Service; and federal, state and local security and law enforcement agencies.
The Garrison has the distinct honor of having 3d U.S. Infantry conduct much of their tactical and field training here. The 3d U.S. Infantry, traditionally known as ⚠"The Old Guard," and is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving our nation since 1784. The Old Guard also provides Fort Walker with ceremonial and service support.
Fort Walker is also home to the ⚠Night Vision and Electronic Sensors countermine/counter-IED capabilities test facilities, Naval Special Warfare Combat Training Center, Command Sgt. Maj. Steven W. Faulkenburg Training Complex, U.S. Army Reserve Center, home of the 310th Engineer Multi-role Bridge Company and ECS-88.
The Capt. Jason T. McMahon Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training Center was named to honor ⚠Capt. Jason T. McMahon, an EOD Soldier who was killed in action in Afghanistan on Sept. 5, 2010. McMahon was the company commander of the 744th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company [⚠1], 184th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion [⚠1] [⚠2] at the time of his death. Instructors train students on EOD Team Leader duties/responsibilities during Explosive Ordnance Disposal incident response to Conventional, Chemical / Biological incidents to include Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) as well as teach students to conduct team administrative/logistic integration in a direct support role with other units.
In 2021, the Army Reserve’s 99th Regional Support Command (RSC) Maintenance Sustainment and Readiness Program relocated an Equipment Concentration Site (ECS) on the garrison to provide a platform for the maintenance and storage of military equipment and vehicles. These vehicles and equipment are for the use of all regional U.S. Army Reserve (USAR) units for mission support and training. The maintenance and storage of vehicles and equipment at the ECS allows for the reduction of vehicles and equipment at home station, requiring less real estate and reducing the maintenance workload on the units. ECS-88 is staffed with transportation and mechanic specialists. The site provides two level maintenance support as well as sustainment maintenance for USAR units in the area.
The U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group officially opened Asymmetric Warfare Group Battle Lab on Jan. 24, 2014. The complex features state-of-the art training and range facilities that support the AWG mission of rapid material and non-material solution development as well as adaptability and resiliency training. The 300-acre training complex includes a headquarters, barracks, administrative, training and maintenance facilities, an urban area, a mobility range, an 800 meter known distance range, a light demolitions range and an indoor small arms range. In 2022, the Battle Lab was absorbed by the garrison and is now used for a wide variety of training by a wide variety of units.
Fort Walker Assault Landing Zone is named after a distinguished paratrooper who served with valor during World War II. George B. "Ben" Adkins was a native of Franklin County, Virginia. He left the ⚠Virginia National Guard at the start of World War II and joined the 82nd Airborne. Serving as a medic in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, he was awarded two Silver Stars, one Bronze Star, a Citation for Gallantry in Action, and a Purple Heart. The Adkins Assault Landing Zone is currently used by many different types of aircraft to include the C-130 and C-17.
JROTC Annual Camp Success, a Fort Walker tradition, has occurred for over a decade. Camp Success is where Junior ROTC cadets from high schools in Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington D.C. attend a six-day camp that broadens their horizons and instilled them with confidence.
During the War on Terror, Fort Walker’s warrior training throughput was approximately 80,000 troops per year. Many of the warriors performed pre-deployment training here prior to being deployed overseas.
In 2022, Congress directed a redesignation commission to redesignate several garrisons and Fort A.P. Hill was one. On August 25, 2023, Fort A.P. Hill was redesignated Fort Mary Walker.
DR. MARY EDWARDS WALKER
Mary Walker was born in Oswego, New York in 1832, to abolitionist parents who encouraged her to pursue an education. She embraced that idea, and in 1855 at the age of 22 she graduated as a medical doctor from Syracuse Medical College. Dr. Walker went into private practice for a several years, and when the Civil War broke out in 1861 she petitioned the Army for a commission to serve as a surgeon, but was denied on account of her gender. Given her credentials as a medical doctor, she instead, volunteered her services as a surgeon from 1861 to 1863. Walker worked for free at the temporary hospital set up at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. She also organized the Women's Relief Organization to help the families of the wounded who came to visit them at local hospitals.
In 1862, Walker moved on to Virginia, this time treating the wounded at field hospitals throughout the state. In 1863, the military accepted her medical credentials, and she moved to Tennessee, where she was appointed as a War Department surgeon. Her new position was paid, and it was the equivalent of a lieutenant or captain.
Walker was captured in April 1864 by the South and held as a prisoner of war for nearly four months. She and other Union Army doctors were eventually exchanged in a prisoner-of-war swap for Confederate medical officers. According to the National Library of Medicine, sources say Walker had been captured intentionally so she could spy for the North, but there is little evidence to support that claim. Not long after being released by the Confederates, Walker returned to her craft as an assigned medical director at a hospital for women prisoners in Kentucky.
In November 1865, having left government service for good, President Andrew Johnson awarded Walker with the Medal of Honor by, even though she was a civilian who had never been a commissioned officer in military service. That civilian status is why Walker's medal was rescinded in 1917, two years before she died -- along with 910 others.
Walker refused to return the medal, though, and continued to wear it until she died two years later. Sixty years later, thanks to efforts made by her family, in 1977 President Jimmy Carter restored Dr. Mary Walker with the Medal of Honor – the only woman to date to receive this distinction. Dr. Mary Walker represents the great skill, vision, and courage of many women who have served the United States. Her determination toward service, equality, and care for the wounded remain core values of the U.S. Army and the nation.
To date, training facilities include, but are not limited to, HMMWV Egress Assistance Trainer, Engagement Skills Trainer II. Training areas include Land Navigation Course's, Leadership Reaction Course, NBC Confidence Course, Obstacle Confidence Course, Rappel Tower, Rope Bridge Construction Site, Urban Operations Site, Warrior task Complex, Training areas, and Weapon Ranges.