Fort Lee Centennial Celebration
Fort Lee Soldiers, families and civilian employees began a century of support to the nation in 1917 when Camp Lee was established to train the 80th Division for service during WWI. Today, Fort Lee is the Army's Home of Sustainment and supports the training, education and development of adaptive Army professionals in fields such as transportation, supply, culinary arts and equipment repair and maintenance. Major organizations on the installation include the Defense Commissary Agency, Defense Contract Management Agency, Combined Arms Support Command, the Army Logistics University, U.S. Army Ordnance School, U.S. Army Quartermaster School and U.S. Army Transportation School. Fort Lee supports nearly 86,000 Soldiers, retirees, veterans, family members and civilian employees and boasts an economic impact of about $2.4 billion per year.
Fort Lee is celebrating 'A Century of Support to the Nation' at Fort Lee and in the local communities July 9 - 12, 2017. The public is invited to attend the many events planned. Events of possible interest are as follows:
Centennial Run: Starting at 5:30 a.m on July 9, more than 100 Soldiers will run 99 miles in surrounding cities and counties.
Centennial Celebration: At 11 a.m. on July 10, in Williams Stadium, on Fort Lee, the Black Daggers parachute demonstration team will jump in, there will be music by the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and the 100-mile run through local communities will culminate in the running of the final mile.
Unit sporting competitions: Starting at 1 p.m. on July 10 at various locations on the installation there will be basketball, bowling, dodgeball and volleyball tournaments conducted by the units across the installation.
Drill and Ceremony competition: Following the Centennial Celebration in Williams Stadium on July 10, (1 p.m.) multiple teams from 59th Ordnance Brigade and 23rd Quartermaster Brigade will have six minutes to perform a lengthy list of military tasks and drills.
Competition Award Ceremony: At 4:30 p.m. following the afternoon competitive events, Garrison commander Col. Adam Butler and Command Sgt. Maj. Vittorio DeSouza will announce the winners of the sporting and Drill and Ceremony competitions followed by the retreat ceremony.
Fort Lee Documentary screening: A 26-minute documentary about Fort Lee's history and contributions to the defense of the nation over the past 100 years will be presented at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. on July 10 at the Lee Theater.
WWI Exhibit Opening: At 10 a.m. on July 12th, U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum will open their newest exhibit, "Battle Ready: The Quartermaster Mission in World War I". This exhibit features rare artifacts from the museum's extensive collection as well as educational displays. The exhibit will explain how the Quartermaster Corps overcame adversity and transformed into a viable organizations that contributed to victory in WWI.
For more information on these events, see: https://www.facebook.com/ArmyFortLee
Contributed by: Friends of Kirk Cox