Active Military Installations and Units
Fort Gregg-Adams (until 2023 known as Fort Lee) is the U.S. Army post located in Prince George County, just south of Richmond. It serves as the Army’s sustainment training hub and houses the Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) and Sustainment Center of Excellence, which oversee logistics training for the Army. The post is home to the U.S. Army Quartermaster, Ordnance, and Transportation Schools, as well as the Army Sustainment University. Several defense agencies have their headquarters on base, including the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Defense Commissary Agency.
History: Fort Gregg-Adams traces its origins to World War I, when it was established in 1917 as Camp Lee – a massive training cantonment constructed in just 60 days on farmland near Petersburg. It was named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee (a convention at the time). The camp trained the 80th Infantry Division during WWI. Reactivated during World War II as Camp Lee again, it served as a major Quartermaster training center. In 1950, during the Korean War era, it became a permanent installation and was renamed Fort Lee. Throughout the Cold War, Fort Lee continued to train tens of thousands of soldiers in logistics and support roles, sending units and specialists to conflicts from Korea and Vietnam through the Gulf War. Over the years, Fort Lee’s mission expanded – notably after the 2005 BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) which brought the Ordnance and Transportation Schools here, greatly increasing the base’s population and training capacity. Today, Fort Gregg-Adams supports about 9,800 personnel (2020 census) – nearly triple its 2010 population – reflecting its growth as a consolidated sustainment training center. The installation also features two museums open to the public: the U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum and the U.S. Army Women’s Museum, which preserve and showcase the Army’s logistical and women’s service history.
In April 2023, Fort Lee was officially redesignated as Fort Gregg-Adams to honor two pioneering Black officers – Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley. This change was part of a Department of Defense initiative to rename installations previously named after Confederate figures. Fort Gregg-Adams became the first U.S. Army base named for African Americans. The renaming underscores the post’s modern identity while acknowledging a broader range of Army heritage.
The Defense Supply Center Richmond (DSCR) is a major military logistics center located in Chesterfield County on the south side of the Richmond region. Operated by the Defense Logistics Agency, DSCR serves as the aviation supply chain manager for the U.S. armed forces, coordinating procurement and distribution of parts and equipment for over 1,300 military aircraft and weapon systems. The installation spans 631 acres on what was once the “Bellwood” farm, and it began operations in 1942.
History: Opened during World War II as the Richmond General Depot, the site initially focused on Quartermaster and general Army supply operations. It was later called the Richmond Quartermaster Depot, reflecting its key role in supplying U.S. forces. In the 1960s, as the Department of Defense consolidated logistics, the depot’s mission broadened. It was renamed the Defense General Supply Center in 1962 when it took on managing tens of thousands of supply items for all military branches. Eventually, it became part of the Defense Logistics Agency, and by 1996 it was designated the Defense Supply Center Richmond, with a specialized focus on aviation parts and logistics support.
Notably, DSCR has cared for a small herd of elk on the property for decades – descendants of animals from the original Bellwood farm, honored per an agreement with the former landowners.
In May 2018, the Virginia National Guard opened its new Joint Force Headquarters building on DSCR grounds. This consolidated headquarters houses Virginia Army and Air National Guard leadership and support staff, who relocated from an older facility in Sandston. The co-location of the state Guard HQ at DSCR strengthens coordination between state and federal military activities in the Richmond area. DSCR thus functions not only as a logistics hub but also as a home for important military organizations in Virginia.
Richmond International Airport (RIC) has a joint civil-military history. During WWII, Byrd Field was converted into Richmond Army Air Base (with even a decoy airfield built nearby to confuse enemy bombers). Post-war it became a commercial airport and an Air National Guard base. The Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing was based at RIC for decades, flying F-16s, until it relocated to Joint Base Langley-Eustis in 2007-2008 to begin flying the F-22 Raptor. Today, the Sandston facility adjacent to RIC continues to support military aviation – it houses the Army Aviation Support Facility for the Virginia Army National Guard. Sandston is home to Army National Guard helicopter units (e.g. 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment) and support teams. A small Air Guard contingent (such as the 200th Weather Flight and support staff) remained at Sandston after the fighter wing’s move. In essence, the airport area still functions as a Guard installation, providing flight operations, maintenance, and training for Army aviation units.
Richmond hosts several Army Reserve facilities. The 80th Training Command (The Army School System), a major U.S. Army Reserve command headquarters, is located in Richmond (at the Arthur S. Mingus Reserve Center on Strathmore Road). This unit oversees Army Reserve schools nationwide and reflects the region’s role in Army Reserve training. The Colonel Ernest H. Dervishian Armed Forces Reserve Center (named for a WWII Medal of Honor recipient from Richmond) is another facility in the city, which houses Army Reserve units like the 377th Chemical Company and even a Marine Corps Reserve artillery battery (Battery H, 3rd Battalion, 14th Marines). These reserve centers underscore a diverse military presence – including Marine Corps reservists – training and drilling in the Richmond area.
In addition to the Sandston AASF and the state headquarters at DSCR, the Virginia National Guard operates armories and training sites around the region. For example, the Mullins Readiness Center in Sandston (the Guard’s former HQ) still functions as a Guard facility. The Sandston-based 34th Civil Support Team (a WMD response unit) and other Guard units often support civil authorities across the state from their Richmond-area bases.
Beyond military bases, the Richmond metro is home to a number of defense-related industries, companies, and organizations that support the armed forces and contribute to the local economy:
Major firms with a Richmond-area presence include Northrop Grumman, L3Harris, Raytheon, Leidos, and Parsons – many have regional offices or contracts supporting Fort Gregg-Adams and DLA Richmond. For example, Northrop Grumman had a long-running partnership operating a large information technology center in Chesterfield to service state and defense contracts. BAE Systems and SAIC have also maintained offices in the area to support Army logistics programs and training simulation at Fort Lee. Richmond may not host the headquarters of these contractors (which are often in Northern Virginia), but their satellite operations and subcontractors are part of the defense industry ecosystem in Central Virginia.
The region also boasts manufacturing crucial to military supply chains. DuPont’s Spruance Plant in Chesterfield County is one of the largest DuPont facilities in the world and produces advanced fibers and materials with military applications. Kevlar®, famously used in body armor and helmets, is manufactured at Spruance, along with Nomex® (fire-resistant fabric for flight suits) and other protective materials. This plant, opened in 1929, has expanded to supply not only commercial markets but also critical defense, law enforcement, and homeland security needs. DuPont invested in increasing Kevlar production capacity here, ensuring that modern U.S. military protective gear often has Richmond-made components.
Another example is Honeywell, which operates a performance materials plant in Hopewell (just south of Richmond) that has produced chemicals for explosives and polymers used in defense technology.
Given the presence of DLA Aviation, a number of logistics and maintenance contractors work in the region. Companies like Amentum (formerly part of AECOM) and KBR have been known to provide base support, facilities management, and equipment maintenance at Fort Lee/Fort Gregg-Adams. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) itself employs many civilians in Richmond and partners with local suppliers for everything from vehicle parts to IT services.
The Richmond area’s educational institutions also connect to defense. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and the University of Richmond host the Army ROTC Spider Battalion, which trains future Army officers among their students. This ROTC program commissions graduates into the Army and National Guard, contributing personnel to the military. The Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, while primarily a museum and memorial, also conducts educational programs and hosts military history research events, partnering with organizations like the Virginia War Memorial Foundation. Moreover, state agencies such as the Virginia Department of Veterans Services have offices in Richmond to support veterans (though not defense industry, they are part of the broader military community infrastructure).
Richmond is home to the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center, a large Veterans Affairs hospital that serves veterans from around the region and is a key site for military medical research and rehabilitation (including a polytrauma center). This hospital is federally operated and works closely with the Department of Defense on care for wounded service members and transitioning veterans. Its presence underscores Richmond’s role in caring for military personnel after their service.
Richmond’s military significance extends deep into history. As the former capital of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, the city and surrounding counties are rich with historic military sites, battlefields, and monuments.
The Richmond National Battlefield Park, operated by the National Park Service, preserves 13 Civil War sites around Richmond. These include major battlefields such as Cold Harbor, Gaines’ Mill, and Malvern Hill (scenes of pivotal battles in 1862 and 1864), and smaller sites like Drewry’s Bluff (Fort Darling) where Confederate artillery repelled a Union navy attack on the James River in 1862. Malvern Hill, in particular, is “the best preserved battlefield in the Richmond area” with expansive fields that look much as they did in the 19th century. At Fort Harrison in Henrico County – another unit of the park – Union forces breached Richmond’s outer defenses in 1864. Visitors today can walk the preserved earthworks at Fort Harrison and imagine the fierce fighting. The park also encompasses the Chimborazo Medical Museum in the city, on the site of Chimborazo Hospital which was one of the largest military hospitals of the Civil War. These historic sites provide tangible links to Richmond’s role as a strategic military center in the 19th century.
In downtown Richmond along the James River, the preserved iron foundry buildings of Tredegar Iron Works stand as a testament to wartime industry. Tredegar was the largest ironworks in the Confederacy and the primary producer of cannons and munitions for Southern armies. It supplied artillery pieces that were used in many Civil War battles. Today, Tredegar is home to the American Civil War Museum, where exhibits chronicle the Civil War’s causes, course, and consequences. This museum (a merger of the former Museum of the Confederacy and Richmond’s Civil War visitor center) uses Tredegar’s historic location to contextualize the war. Tredegar’s importance as a military industrial site makes it a key landmark for understanding Richmond’s wartime economy and defense.
Richmond contributed to 20th-century war efforts in various ways. During WWII, as noted, Richmond’s airport (then Byrd Field) became an Army Air Base in 1943, training Allied pilots. In an innovative defensive measure, the U.S. Army built a “decoy airfield” in eastern Henrico County – complete with fake runways, wooden planes, and dummy anti-aircraft guns – to draw potential enemy bombers away from the real air base. This lesser-known site, at the corner of Technology Blvd and Portugee Rd in Sandston, still has historical markers today and is an example of home-front ingenuity. Richmond was also home to defense plants, such as the DuPont gun cotton factory in Hopewell during WWI and WWII. During the Cold War, the Defense General Supply Center (now DSCR) in Chesterfield was a backbone of military logistics for Korea and Vietnam, shipping supplies worldwide.
Opened in 1956 and significantly expanded in recent years, the Virginia War Memorial is located overlooking the James River in Richmond. It is a solemn shrine with walls etched with the names of Virginians killed in action from World War II through today’s conflicts. The Memorial’s expansions include a museum and education center. It serves as the site of major commemorative events and itself is a historical landmark, honoring the sacrifice of Virginia’s military service members. Visitors can see exhibits on various wars and a torch-lit Shrine of Memory, making it a focal point of military remembrance in the region.
Located in Byrd Park, the Virginia War Memorial Carillon was dedicated in 1932 as the state’s official World War I memorialfoot Georgian Revival bell tower houses a 53-bell carillon, originally played to honor fallen soldiers and still used today for concerts and ceremonies . Built great Depression, it was intended as both a tribute and a civic gathering space . The Carillon remaficant landmark, hosting annual remembrance events, including the 2017 ceremony marking the centennial of America’s entry into WWI , and stands as a striking sy’s military heritage.
Once home to some of the nation’s most prominent Confederate monuments, Monument Avenue was a grand boulevard that reflected the Lost Cause narrative for over a century. Its statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and others were installed between 1890 and 1929, reinforcing Richmond’s Confederate identity. In 2020–2021, these monuments were removed following widespread protests, marking a major shift in how the city presents its military history. Today, only the Arthur Ashe statue remains, as Richmond debates how to reimagine the space in a way that reflects a broader, more inclusive historical narrative.
Established in 1866, Richmond National Cemetery serves as the final resting place for over 9,000 U.S. veterans, primarily Union soldiers who died in Richmond’s Civil War hospitals and prison camps. Many of its graves hold unidentified remains reinterred from temporary burial sites across the region. The cemetery became a focal point for early Decoration Day ceremonies, particularly among the city’s African American community, who honored Union soldiers at a time when Confederate memorials dominated Richmond’s landscape. Today, the cemetery stands as a solemn tribute to military service and sacrifice in the former Confederate capital.
Located near the site of the 1862 Battle of Seven Pines, this national cemetery holds the remains of over 1,300 Union soldiers, most of whom died in the bloody fighting east of Richmond. Established in 1866, it became a final resting place for soldiers reburied from battlefield graves. With more than 1,200 unknown soldiers among its interments, Seven Pines National Cemetery serves as a quiet, reflective memorial to the war’s heavy toll. It remains a significant site for visitors exploring Richmond’s Civil War battlefields.
In eastern Henrico near the border with Charles City County lies the Glendale (Frayser’s Farm) battlefield, near the Malvern Hill battlefield, parts of the 1862 Seven Days Battles. Walking trails and wayside signs guide visitors where Union artillery devastated Confederate attackers on the hill’s slope. These sites are slightly off the beaten path but reward those interested in Civil War history with well-preserved landscapes. The Glendale National Cemetery is a small cemetery nearby, containing casualties from those battles – another hallowed but lightly visited ground.
Dedicated in 2020, this addition to the Virginia War Memorial honors Virginians who have died in post-9/11 military conflicts, including operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and counterterrorism missions worldwide. The shrine also commemorates earlier events such as the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the USS Cole attack. The names of over 175 fallen service members are engraved on its walls, ensuring their sacrifices are recognized alongside those from past wars. As part of the larger Virginia War Memorial complex, the shrine plays a central role in Richmond’s ongoing military remembrance.
Built in 1887 on the grounds of the Confederate Soldiers’ Home, this Gothic Revival chapel once hosted services for aging Confederate veterans. Its stained-glass windows, donated by Confederate organizations, commemorate Southern units and leaders. After the soldiers’ home closed in 1941, the chapel was preserved as a historic landmark. In recent years, it has become part of Richmond’s evolving conversation about Confederate memory, with its interpretation shifting from a site of veneration to one of historical reflection. Now managed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, the chapel stands as one of the last remnants of Richmond’s Confederate veterans’ community. Nearby, historical markers point out the Soldiers’ Home history. It’s a lesser-visited spot, overshadowed by the art museum next door, but significant in that it was one of the first veteran care facilities of its kind in the U.S.
In Monroe Park in downtown Richmond, one can find a somewhat unexpected military artifact – a captured Spanish cannon (or mortar) from the Spanish–American War (1898). This trophy gun, given to the city in 1899, sits near the fountain as a reminder of Richmond soldiers who served in that war (for example, Richmond’s Montague Rifles fought in Cuba). It’s not widely noted unless one reads the small plaque, making it a true hidden-in-plain-sight military relic.
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