Fort Belvoir is an Army base located in Fairfax county Virginia 45 miles south of Washington, D.C. This installation has almost twice as many employees as the Pentagon and the campus features three distinguished areas: the main base, the Davison Army Airfield and the Fort Belvoir North area. Fort Belvoir is a census designated place (CDP) and hosts various military organizations including the Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, the Defense Acquisition University and the Defense Technical Information Center. The command team at Fort Belvoir is as follows: Colonel Angie Holbrook is the Garrison Commander, the Command Sergeant Major is Billie Jo Boersma and the Deputy to the Garrison Commander is Stephen Brooks.
Quick Facts
| Coordinates | 38° 42' 38.33" N 77° 09' 30.55" W |
|---|---|
| City | Fairfax, VA 22060 |
| Phone | — |
| DSN | — |
History
Fort Belvoir was once a sprawling plantation on the banks of the scenic Potomac River belonging to the Fairfax family. The name Belvoir is derived from the French 'bel voir,' meaning beautiful sight or quite literally, beautiful to see. Before it became a military installation, Fort Belvoir used to be the Belvoir Plantation before the main house burned down in 1783 and was later completely razed to the ground during the War of 1812.
In 1917, the Belvoir lands were given to the U.S. Army by the state of Virginia and during World War I, Belvoir was known as Camp A.A. Humphreys before officially becoming Fort Belvoir in the 1930's. In 2011, per a decision by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission, Fort Belvoir absorbed some of the federal agencies from other installations. Belvoir's mission is to provide the best facilities and services for training to bolster resilience and mission readiness. Because of its location, this post offers many tourist attractions ranging from historical sites, national parks, monuments and museums to mention a few.
Housing & Lodging
The Fort Belvoir Housing Services Office (HSO) is open M-F, 7a-4:30p to assist with your housing and lodging needs. The office is located at 9851 Harding Place, Bldg. 258 and can be reached at (703) 805-3019. There is also on-post temporary lodging available at the Holiday Inn Express Knadle Hall on Ft Belvoir, (703) 704-8300.
Additional lodging options include:
Candlewood Suites Alexandria, Hampton Inn & Suites South Area Alexandria, and the Best Western Mt Vernon Hotel Alexandria. All three of these hotels can be reached at (800) 916-4508.
Schools
There are military schools at Fort Belvoir. They include the Army Force Management School (703) 805-4904 and the Defense Acquisition University (866) 568-6924.
Fort Belvoir Public Schools include Fort Belvoir Elementary School (703) 781-2700, Walt Whitman Middle School (703) 660-2400 and Mount Vernon High School (703) 619-3100.
Financial Institutions
PenFed Credit Union (FCU), (800) 247-5626.
Places of Interest
The Fort Belvoir Commissary is on 6050 Gorgas Rd Building 2325. You can reach the commissary by calling (703) 781-0536 or emailing/calling the store director, John T. Blythe, at [email protected]/(703) 806-6371. The commissary is open M-F 9a-9p, Saturday 8a-8p and Sunday 9a-7p.
Fort Belvoir is approximately 40 minutes away from The White House by car and 1.5 hours by mass transit (buses, metro).
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate which features the mansion, gardens, tombs, a farm, a distillery and gristmill and a museum is 20 minutes away from Fort Belvoir by car and is open all year round. For more information, you can call (703) 780-2000 or visit the Mount Vernon website here.
Moral, Wellfare & Recreation
Fort Belvoir's MWR website features directories, calendars and facilities and programs lists.