Fort Jackson (South Carolina)

United States Army Training Center & Fort Jackson
Columbia, South Carolina
USATC & Fort Jackson Distinctive Unit Insignia
Coordinates	34°2′21″N 80°49′20″W / 34.03917°N 80.82222°W / 34.03917; -80.82222Coordinates: 34°2′21″N 80°49′20″W / 34.03917°N 80.82222°W / 34.03917; -80.82222
Site information
Controlled by	U.S. Army
Site history
In use	1917–present
Garrison information
Garrison	Chaplain Center and School Soldier Support Institute Drill Sergeant School U.S. Army Basic Training Center of Excellence

Fort Jackson is a United States Army installation, which TRADOC operates on for Basic Combat Training (BCT), and is located next to Columbia, South Carolina. This installation is named for Andrew Jackson, a United States Army General and seventh President of the United States of America (1829–1837) who was born in the border region of North and South Carolina.

Fort Jackson was created in 1917 (as Camp Jackson) as the United States entered World War I. At the conclusion of World War I, Camp Jackson was shut down and the Camp was abandoned 25 April 1922 pursuant to General Orders No. 33, War Department, 27 July 1921. Camp Jackson was reactivated for World War II. At the conclusion of World War II, the post was to have been deactivated by 1950; however, the outbreak of the Korean War caused the post to remain active and it is still functioning in the early 21st Century.

Fort Jackson is the largest and most active Initial Entry Training Center in the U.S. Army, training 50 percent of all soldiers and 60 percent of the women entering the Army each year. Providing the Army with new soldiers is the post's primary mission. 35,000 potential soldiers attend basic training and 8,000 advanced individual training soldiers train at Fort Jackson annually. Soldiers who have trained or worked at Fort Jackson live by the base's motto, "Victory Starts Here." The training is provided by the 165th, 171st, and 193rd Infantry Brigades Monday through Sunday for a ten-week period.