Military

England Industrial Airpark

England Industrial Airpark is the Army's port of embarkation at Alexandria, Louisiana. Deployment or training for deployment of Army units from Fort Polk occurs at England Industrial Airpark or by rail or seaport. Fort Polk serves as an Army power projection platform from which fores deploy by air, rail and sea to areas of operation around the world. It is home to the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment (Light) (2d ACR) and several other rapid deployment and combat service support units.

In October 1999, the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff of the Army articulated a vision to posture the Army to meet the demands of the 21st century. Transformation addresses the need for change based on emerging security challenges of the 21st century. Chief among these challenges is the need to be able to respond more rapidly to different types of operations requiring military action. The Army proposes to implement force transformation and mission capability enhancements at Fort Polk with respect to facilities construction. The purpose of the proposed action is to bring the Interim Force to operational capability. Proposed construction activities at England Industrial Air Park include: construction of ammunition loading pads, a passenger processing facility, and upgrade of the north aircraft ramp.

England Industrial Airpark and Community, located northwest of Alexandria, La. traces its beginnings back to 1939, when it served as an emergency airstrip for Esler Field, the regional airport serving the Central Louisiana area. However, as the possibility of war in Europe increased, the Army Air Corps leased the facility from the city of Alexandria. The airfield was named Alexandria Army Air Base. In June 1955, the base was officially named England Air Force Base in honor of Lt. Col. John B. England, who had been commander of the 389th Bomber Squadron at the base.

England AFB was officially closed on December 15, 1992, pursuant to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law 101-510) and recommendations of the Defense Secretary's Commission on Base Realignment and Closure.

On February 3, 1995, the Air Force issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the disposal of England Air Force Base (AFB), Louisiana. The decisions included in this ROD were made in consideration of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which was filed with the Environmental Protection Agency on November 13, 1992. This ROD documents certain disposal decisions which the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Manpower, Reserve Affairs, Installations and Environment has made regarding the disposal of England AFB. The Air Force decided to dispose of 2279 acres of surplus property to the England Economic and Industrial Development Authority for public airport use and 0.69 acres to the City of Alexandria for continued use as a small arms pistol range and 2.91 acres to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for support of airport activities and operation of their enroute radar facility.