As one of the largest and most requested duty stations (at least in the Army), Ft. Lewis (now Joint Base Lewis-McChord) has seen its fair share of changes. The four primary areas that comprise JBLM have also been modified, renamed, expanded and revamped over the past 60 plus years.

JBLM Main

The post was first and foremost a training ground, which had been used by National Guard Soldiers since 1904. In 1916, the Army lobbied to take over the 70,000 acres from Pierce County and transform it into Camp Lewis, which would be built up from nothing in a relatively short amount of time and be the duty station for thousands of men by 1918.

The base started with one, ornamental stone gate (still located at the JBLM Main entrance) and has grown into having upwards of 10 gates, though not all of those can be used on a daily basis or for general traffic.

Housing was mostly limited to barracks, many of which are still standing on the base and used for offices alongside brand new buildings. Currently, there are just over 5,000 homes on JBLM, scattered throughout 15 neighborhoods, and more are slated to be built in 2012.

Madigan Army Medical Center

The original Madigan, which was first built during WWII, could easily fit inside the present day hospital, which was rebuilt in 1982 and set up to house more than 120 different clinics. Today, the one million square-foot hospital has added    more clinics - some of which are even off base, out in the community - and more staff to handle the ever-growing patient population. Most recently, two parking lot expansions were created in order to ease the congestion for patients and staff; over 500 new spots were added this past year.

JBLM North

Before the early 1960s, JBLM North was actually just part of the main post and was not separate. However, when Interstate 5 was built, it ran through the northwest corner of the post, thus creating the divide. Additional gates were installed at that time and the area now houses barracks, unit headquarters, housing communities and other amenities, just like the main post.

 JBLM McChord Field

Originally, McChord's 3,000 acres of space was actually the northern tip of Ft. Lewis and did not standalone. It was called Tacoma Field and was opened in 1930. Then, in 1947, under provisions of the National Security Act of that year, the area was established as an Air Force Base, separated from Ft. Lewis and named McChord AFB. Almost 63 years later, due to the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BCRA) plans, McChord was once again connected to neighboring Ft. Lewis and became one of 12 joint bases nationwide, and was renamed JBLM McChord Field.