Fort Rucker
Home of the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence
Garrison Commander Welcome Letter
Welcome to Fort Rucker, Alabama, the Home of Army Aviation. Fort Rucker is an excellent place to live and work. Fort Rucker covers about 63,100 acres of southeast Alabama countryside in an area known as the Wiregrass, named for a wild grass peculiar to the region. Much of the main post is in Dale County, with the remaining Government-owned and leased acreage in Coffee, Geneva, and Houston Counties. Most of the countryside is rolling and wooded. An abundance of lakes and streams and proximity to the Gulf of Mexico make this a fisherman’s paradise. Fort Rucker is about 80 miles south-southeast of Montgomery, the state capital. It is just 20 miles northwest of the city of Dothan, home of the National Peanut Festival. Fort Rucker is surrounded by the communities of Daleville, Enterprise, and Ozark, which have strong ties to the post.
Fort Rucker is the largest helicopter training installation in the world. As the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE) and the home of the Aviation branch, Fort Rucker is charged with producing aviation Soldiers for the world’s premier aviation force. In February 1955, the Department of the Army established the USAACE at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Since that date, USAACE has provided the force with motivated aviation Soldiers and leaders, trained to world-class proficiency. The Center’s primary mission is to train military, civilian, and international personnel in aviation-related and leadership skills to prepare Army Aviation for the future. Through a partnership with local Wiregrass communities, the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Rucker provides an environment that supports this primary mission and provides for the well being of its personnel. Fort Rucker is comprised of the Garrison Command, U.S. Army Aviation Center and School, U.S. Army Safety Center, U.S. Army Warrant Officer Career Center, U.S. Army Aviation Technical Test Center, U.S. Army Air Traffic Services Command, U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, U.S. Army Aeromedical Center, and numerous other resident organizations primarily focused on Army Aviation.