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NSA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland

Fort George G. Meade, located 5 miles (8 km) east of Laurel, Maryland, in Anne Arundel County, is an active US Army installation. The fort is named for General George Meade, a Union Army general in the US Civil War.

Fort Meade was established in 1917 when the United States Department of War acquired 19,000 acres (77 km²) of land west of Odenton to develop a training camp. First known as Camp Annapolis Junction, the fort was named Camp Admiral at its opening in 1917. Other name changes occurred after construction of 1,460 buildings on the site when it became Camp George Gordon Meade then in the 1920s it became Fort Leonard Wood, but by the 1930s it reverted back to Fort George G. Meade.

Fort Meade was used as a basic training post and a prisoner of war camp during World War II. In the 1950s, the post became headquarters of the National Security Agency (NSA). The post was scheduled to close in the 1990s, but was kept open to support the NSA.

Due to its location near Washington, D.C., it is increasingly being used by government and military tenants like the Defense Information School, the headquarters of the Defense Courier Service, the United States Army Field Band, and an United States Environmental Protection Agency facility.

As part of the U.S. Defense Department's 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process, several additional activities will move to Fort Meade around 2010, including the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Adjudication and Office of Hearing and Appeals Offices, and several DoD media activities. Several parcels of land have been made available for commercial lease. [1]

Current Officer Housing at Fort Meade

Fort Meade is also home to Meade Senior High School and the National Cryptologic Museum.

• Fort Meade, Maryland, the census-designated place in Maryland
• National Security Agency, one of many federal users of Ft. Meade land
• Fort Meade, Florida
• Fort Meade can also refer to Old Fort Meade Museum outside of Sturgis, South Dakota which is sometimes listed as simply "Fort Meade" on some national maps.

• Fort Meade Army web site

Coordinates: 39.109° N 76.745° W