Military Presence at the Fort
Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS)
The Department of Finance & Accounting is the United States military’s financial headquarters. The Finance Center was constructed from August 1951 to October 1953. The building is 966 feet long and 612 feet wide and cost approximately $19 million to build. In February 1954 it was estimated that 6,000 civilian and military employees worked at the Finance Center. Today, over 4,000 employees work in various agencies within this 1 million square foot building which is located within easy walking distance from Lawrence Village at the Fort.
For more demographic data on DFAS, click here.
U.S. Army Reserve
The Army Reserve headquarters is located directly east of Harrison Park Apartments off of 59th Street and employs 85 full time military and civilian employees and 300 part time employees on the weekends. The majority of employees come from the greater Indianapolis area with 20% commuting to Lawrence. Of the 20% commuting employees, 95% come from within the State of Indiana. As needed, the Army Reserve deploys soldiers for active duty and stations them at Fort Benjamin Harrison on orders for up to a year prior to sending them elsewhere. At other times, soldiers are stationed here for up to 120 days for training.
Currently, the Army Reserve is at “35% solution” on a new Army Reserve headquarters that they plan to build at Fort Benjamin Harrison. The new facility will house the current full and part time employee base as well as relocate Marine and Navy units from Bloomington and an Indianapolis facility. The new headquarters will nearly double the size of their existing staff. Completion is set for 18 months after or by January 2014.
Indiana National Guard – Lawrence Armory
The Indiana National Guard is headquarters for 4 units of the 76th Infantry Brigade that served in Iraq, Afghanistan and other overseas deployments. The facility houses 61 full time soldiers and 397 part time traditional soldiers also called citizen soldiers. The Armory cost upwards of $25 million and is 110,000 square feet. It is located on the north side of 59th Street just within the boundary of Ft. Benjamin Harrison and directly to the east of the PX & Commissary.
About 60% of the Armory soldiers are from Indianapolis and nearby counties with 40% coming from across the state. Weekend drills bring additional "strength" to Lawrence.
Commissary and Post Exchange at Historic Fort Harrison
The FHRA, in partnership with the Department of Defense, United States Army, Defense Commissary Agency, and the Army Air Force Exchange Service constructed a new state of the art, PX/Commissary. The PX/Commissary provides essential services to military personnel, retirees and their families across Indiana. Over 35,000 families from across the State of Indiana travel to this PX/Commissary on an annual basis to shop at these stores.