Military
Savannah, along with neighboring southeast Georgia and coastal South Carolina, has an active military presence supported by a long military history.
The city is the site of Hunter Army Airfield, a vital part of the Fort Stewart complex, which is the largest military installation east of the Mississippi River. Boasting the U.S. Army's longest runway, Hunter serves as a location from which troops and equipment based at Hunter and Fort Stewart can be deployed rapidly throughout the world.
Some 24,300 soldiers are stationed at Fort Stewart and at Hunter, the latter of which is the home of a Ranger battalion (the 1st of the 75th Regiment); units of the 3rd Infantry Division; a special operations aviation regiment; and a U.S. Coast Guard air station operating search-and-rescue helicopters. Fort Stewart, with headquarters located 40 miles southwest of Savannah in the Liberty County town of Hinesville, is home of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized).
The combined military-civilian payroll of the Fort Stewart-Hunter complex is nearing $1 billion annually. Although most of the personnel assigned to Fort Stewart work and live in Hinesville, many soldiers and their dependents visit Savannah on a regular basis to shop and take advantage of the city's amenities.
Savannah is also home to the 165th Airlift Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard, whose 759 uniformed personnel fly and maintain C-130H cargo planes. The payroll of the 165th is $29.5 million a year.
Also contributing to the local economy are units of the Coast Guard and other components of the Air Guard.
The importance of the role of the units housed at Fort Stewart-Hunter, along with its size and access to the port of Savannah, makes the future of this military installation secure.
