Welcome to Fort Sill - Home of the Field Artillery!
LOCATION: Fort Sill is a large U.S. Army installation located in southwest Oklahoma, the heart of "Oklahoma's Great Plains" country--a region of wide, open spaces and clear blue skies. It is 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, the state capitol, and 50 miles north of Wichita Falls, Texas on Interstate 44. The post is adjacent to and just north of the city of Lawton. Entry to the post is through three main gates: Key Gate from the west, Sheridan Road Gate from the north, and Fort Sill Gate, also from the north.
All field artillery Soldiers and Marines receive their training here, as well as many international students from allied nations. Fort Sill is home to the Field Artillery Training Command, IIId Armor Corps Artillery, and many tenant activities.
At Fort Sill, we take enormous pride in our community--a community of excellence in spirit as well as in name. The wellspring of our excellence lies within our people--Soldiers, Marines, Civilians, and families of Fort Sill united in a common and abiding commitment to care for one another and treat everyone with dignity.
HISTORY: Whether your specialty is field artillery surveyor, cannon fire director, or Multiple Launch Rocket System repairer, you join an elite group of artillerymen and Soldiers who fought hostile Indians and eventually won the West, Southwestern Oklahoma, that is.
United States artillery can be traced back to the Military Company of Massachusetts, which was chartered in 1638, and with other colonial artillery companies formed what became the Continental Artillery. More than a century later, in April 1775, the legislature authorized the formation of an artillery regiment. This unit was first commanded by COL Richard Gridley, a former British artillery officer who later was replaced by COL Henry Knox. COL Knox eventually became the Chief of Artillery and is credited with shaping artillery for the remainder of the Revolution.
It would be another century, on January 8,1869, before MG Philip H. Sheridan staked out the site that would become Fort Sill. Sheridan was leading a campaign into Indian Territory to stop hostile tribes from raiding border settlements in Texas and Kansas. His massive winter campaign involved six cavalry regiments accompanied by frontier scouts "Buffalo Bill" Cody, "Wild Bill" Hickock, Ben Clark, and Jack Stillwell. Troops from the 10th Cavalry, a distinguished unit of black "Buffalo Soldiers" who constructed many of the stone buildings still surrounding the Old Post Quadrangle, camped at the new fort. In June 1874, the Comanches, Kiowas, and Southern Cheyennes went on the warpath, and the South Plains reverberated with the hoofbeats of Indian raiders. The resulting Red River Campaign, which lasted a year, was mainly a war of attrition with the military in relentless pursuit of the Indians.
Without a chance to graze their livestock and faced with the disappearance of the great buffalo herds, the hostile tribes eventually surrendered. Quannah Parker and his Quohada Comanches were the last to abandon the struggle, and their arrival at Fort Sill's Quartermaster Corral in June 1875 marked the end of Plains Indian warfare on the Southern Plains.
In July 1901, 29,000 homesteaders registered for the land lottery at Fort Sill. On August 6, the town of Lawton sprang up and quickly grew to become the third largest city in Oklahoma.
As Home of the Field Artillery, Fort Sill is not only at the forefront of tremendous technological advances, but it is also steeped in natural, living history. And, as the only active Army installation of all the forts on the South Plains built during the Indian wars, Fort Sill is also a National History Landmark.
MISSION: Fort Sill's mission is to train artillery Soldiers and train them well. To do that, they are trained day and night to put "steel on target." Fort Sill's three-pronged approach to training and preparedness makes it one of the best training posts in the Army. It is comprised of the Field Artillery School, the primary training facility for field artillery Soldiers and Marines worldwide; the Field Artillery Training Center, home of basic combat, one-station unit training, and advanced individual training; and IIId Armored Corps Artillery, the largest field artillery complex in the free world.
POPULATION: Fort Sill is a large installation. The total population in Fort Sill is about 53,000 including civilian personnel, contractors, military family members, retirees, and Soldiers.
Fort Sill Population Average
| CATEGORY |
AVG # |
| Military |
14,000 |
| Civilian |
6,000 |
| Family Members |
33,000 |
SPONSORSHIP: Request a sponsor to receive the personal touch we all need when going to a location we have never been before. See the topic on Sponsorship for explanation of the program and how we can assist you.
Personal Mail: Soldiers and their dependents are authorized to receive personal mail throught the Installation Consolidated Mail Room until they have established a permanent address (normally 30 days). Upon arrival, the Soldier and/or dependents can visit Building 930 (Post OFfice) South entrance (toward the back of the building) to pick up mail. A valid military ID is required. Upon establishing a permanent address, the Soldier should provide the Installation Consolidate Mail Room a DA Form 3955 (Change of Address and Directory Card), available through your unit mail clerk, or the Installation Consolidated Mail Room
Below is the address you need to use, and also use the format as an example.
Soldier/Spouse/Child's name
Rank/Name of Soldier
6322 NW Currie Road
Fort Sill, OK 73503-7971
TEMPORARY QUARTERS: Permanently assigned to Fort Sill personnel will report to the Personnel Processing Branch-Welcome Center, Building 3164, Monday - Friday, from 0730-1600
After duty hours and weekends all Soldiers report to the Officer in Charge (OIC) at the Installation Operations Center (IOC) in Mc Nair Hall, Building 455, to sign in. Find parking and entrance to the building at the southeast side of the building. If you are unaccompanied SGT (E5) or below a temporary room will be provided for you. Soldiers accompanied by dependent family members, or SSG (E6) or above must check with lodging building 5676 (Ferguson Street). If Lodging is not available you will receive a 'non availability statement' allowing you to use one of the many hotels/motels in the Lawton/Fort Sill.
We always recommend that you make your reservations prior to your arrival.
TEMPORARY LODGING: Fort Sill Geronimo Lodging is located in building 5676. Reservations may be made up to 30 days before arrival. Reservation Telephone Numbers:
Toll-free: 877-902-3607
Commercial: 580-442-5000
DSN: 639-5000
Fax: 580-442-7033
DSN Fax: 639-7033
E-mail: atzrpl@sill.army.mil
Pets allowed: Yes but limited (inquire at reservation time)
A copy of your orders and military ID card will be needed at sign-in. Please let them know if you are bringing pets, one building in Geronimo Lodge allows pets. The billeting office is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Remember that although the military will reimburse your lodging cost, you are responsible for the cost at the time of service.
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Army Community Service (ACS)Relocation Readiness Program wants to officially welcome you to our community. Make your relocation fun, successful, and stress free! You may contact the Relocation Readiness Program in your installation, or contact us at (580) 442-5018/6801. The following Relocation Readiness programs are available in all installations, including Fort Sill, to provide information and assist with all your relocation matters.
Relocation counseling and planning service
Newcomers' orientations
Overseas and stateside relocation briefings
Waiting Families Program
International Military Spouses
Lending closet
Returning from Overseas briefings
Welcome Packets, maps, and lots of Oklahoma tourism information.
NEWCOMERS' ORIENTATION - Ensure you attend this informative orientation. Spouses are greatly encouraged to attend! Start networking as soon as you arrive. We provide a weekly newcomers' orientation that includes a bus tour to help you become familiar with the installation and its activities. Look for your invitation when you sign-in to the installation or at our on post Lodging facility. Free childcare is available to personnel attending the orientation. Must register (free of charge) with the Child and Youth Service (CYS, B.4700 Mow-Way Road) prior to receive the free childcare, phone: 580-442-3927.
Multi-cultural families are wanted to join our Culture Connection Program! Foreign-born spouses are encouraged to join a program designed and dedicated to provide support to our new arrivals looking to connect with other persons from their own culture. This is your invitation to join this fast increasing program. We'd love to have you.
LENDING CLOSET: Personnel needing temporary items until receipt of their household, may want to make use of our Lending Closet. We are stocked with small electric appliances, ironing boards, tableware, silverware, all kinds of kitchen utensils, and cookware, just to name a few. We also provide children items as strollers, playpens, high-chairs, booster-chairs, and car seats. Come and check us out at 4700N Mow-Way Road! Required documents: ID Card and copy or orders.
CRITICAL INSTALLATION INFORMATION:
The Newcomers' Orientation as well as the Personal Financial Management Training are mandatory activities provided during the in-processing at the Welcome Center.
Newcomers' Orientation: Conducted on Tuesdays from 8am - 3:30pm for Soldiers and family members E1 - E6, WO1, and 2LTs. The orientation includes a bus tour of the installation.
Personal Financial Management Training: Conducted every Thursday from 7:30am - 3:30pm for all first term E1-E4 Soldiers.