The Construction of Defense: Military Bases in the United States
Advisor: Ms. Michal Sagal
Internship Location: US Army Recruiting Center
Onsite Mentor: Jason Doll
Military bases have existed for multiple centuries to withstand attacks. The main general purpose of military Forts was to defend against potential attackers during war, and thus, were equipped with an abundance of weapons and artillery. Along with weapons, bases are designed differently and specifically based on the location’s circumstances and environment.
This study will examine the design of three military bases within the United States and how the design would give soldiers an advantage in defending their bases from their respective foreign threats.
I will gather this information from visiting museums, researching online, and interviewing some of the engineers who worked on one of the bases I chose. This examination would help shed light on the “people in the background” (i.e. engineers and construction workers) who built these forts. So, I will be aiming to do structured interviews with at least one of the engineers responsible for each of the forts.
Additionally, I aim to make scaled-down replica’s of the three bases equipped with all the mechanisms and gadgets. The exoskeleton of the models will be made of Lego bricks combined with simple materials such as wood and cardboard. The defense mechanisms could be made of various materials depending on the difficulty level of constructing these mechanisms.
Project Blog
Week 0: An Introduction to My Project
Hello Everyone, I am Om Patil and this is my first blog post. I will be studying the construction behind several forts in the United States and how the building design gave soldiers an advantage against their respective foreign threats.
Military engineering is something that has fascinated me for years. I love how engineering and construction can be used to display the military’s tactics and give them an advantage in war. As a newly recruited army reservist studying computer networking, an engineering-related job, I am exploring my passion more directly. I’ve taken the initiative to expand my knowledge not just on engineering, but how the army uses this information. Exploring the construction and design of these bases will give me more insight into a topic that has always interested me.
This project aims to show the mechanisms and construction behind these military bases and their advantages in war. Military forts provided protection, defense, and shelter for soldiers. This protection would not have been possible without good engineering. From the design of cannons and impenetrable walls to even just the decision of the location of the base, the safety of these soldiers stemmed from engineering. The military is well known for their soldiers fighting on the battlefield with guns and there is not much recognition for the engineering of these forts. This project will shed some light on the people in the background who constructed these forts for soldiers to fall back to.
As it stands, the general public views the armed forces as a job where you go to war and defend your country. However, most of the possible jobs the army or any other armed forces has to offer are background jobs like engineering and doctors - jobs that don’t directly involve defending the country from foreign attacks. Additionally, I will be aiming to do structured interviews with at least one of the engineers responsible for each of the forts.
I'm looking forward to doing more research as well as building the models of these bases.
Week 1: The Finalization of Base Selection
Welcome back everyone!
During this week, I finalized the selection of the three bases I will research and build over the next several weeks. I made sure my list of bases was diverse enough to make seeing and building each base more interesting and fun.
The first base I chose was Fort Point, a base located under the Golden Gate Bridge in the Bay Area. This fort, along with two other bases protected the San Francisco Bay. Although made for that purpose, the base was ultimately used as a training ground for soldiers and housing for military personnel. It is a relatively small fort with most of it being land for training but the fort itself is under the Golden Gate Bridge. I chose this base because it was convenient to visit. I and other future soldiers and army recruiters went on a field trip to explore the base.
I also selected Fort Cavasos. Located near Austin Texas, it is one of the largest military bases in the United States. It is home to the 1st Cavalry Division Museum, 3rd Armored Cavalry Museum, and the 4th Infantry Division OIF Memorial Monument. I will be checking out all four museums. I chose this fort not just because of its size (one of the biggest forts which will contrast well with the small Fort Point) but because it was also convenient to visit. I will be visiting family in cities near Fort Hood.
Finally, I decided on Fort Polk. This fort, located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana is a fort used primarily for combat training. The fort's swamp-style environment is what makes this location great for combat training. I chose this location because of the environment. It will not only be fun to build but will be a unique base that stands out among the other two.
These three bases are my final selection and I look forward to researching more about them, visiting their museums, and building the models.
Week 2: Exploring Fort Point
Welcome back everyone!
This week, I'll visit the Fort Point Museum and research more in-depth on Fort Point. Several Fremont Army recruiters took me along with many other future soldiers for a field trip to Fort Point in November of last year. I took pictures there, talked with the employees, and overall had fun with everyone. This week, I revisited the base to get more pictures and get a better understanding of the layout. Here, I'll give a little introduction to the defense systems and construction of the Fort.
Fort Point was a base built under the Golden Gate Bridge which kept the cannons close to the water level. After the Gold Rush in 1849, the San Francisco Bay became an important area for the government and thus, required defenses set up. This resulted in the construction of Fort Point. Two other forts were also built (one on Alcatraz Island and one across the Golden Gate Bridge) and they would coordinate their fire with Fort Point. Although it was built to defend the bay, it never actually faced a real threat. The base was also used for housing, giving over 300 military personnel a place to live. There were many different types of cannons built while Fort Point was in use and these defenses were all mounted in different areas on the coastline.
The whole base consisted of platforms for firing cannons into the bay, housing for military personnel, grass fields for army training and formation, and the brick fort itself. The fort consisted of four stories housing 102 guns and 126 cannons, most of them pointing towards the bay. It also would coordinate its fire with two other forts: one on Alcatraz Island and one across the Golden Gate Bridge. There were two main types of cannons showcased in the fort. The first was known as the Columbiad. These cannons were built for long-range shots and were thus, used to guard the bay. The cannons fired would ricochet off the water and strike enemy ships. The second type of cannon is the Napoleon cannon. These cannons were built for close-range shots and thus, were used to guard the entrance and the coastline.
The entrance also had more fortifications than just the two Napoleon cannons aimed at the door. The door was about one foot thick and very heavy. After entering there is a hallway with holes in both walls made for soldiers to fire rifle shots at any potential threat that goes through the hallway. After that is a second foot-thick door along with the 2 cannons pointed at the door. In the water, mines were planted making it harder for enemy ships to pass by. The fort also had a lighthouse made for guiding cruise ships and other non-threats.
Now that all the necessary research is completed, I will be starting the process of blueprinting and building the fort. I am excited to finally start the building process and I look forward to giving you guys updates on the process.
Week 3: Blueprinting Fort Point
Hello All!
I will be starting the process of building the model of Fort Point. This week, I aim to finish the blueprint and the rough planning of the model. In this post, I'll explain the process of making the blueprint.
I started by gathering the dimensions from Apple Maps. I used the scale bar and some math to calculate the outer dimensions of the building. I then used the pictures and notes to fill in all the details. Not all dimensions will be fully accurate as I couldn't take all measurements during my visit and searching online didn't give me all the data, but I tried to estimate as best as possible. I will be using a 40:1 scale for this fort. I chose this scale because I wanted the model to be miniature to conserve resources and be easily transported, yet big enough to show all the necessary details. The blueprint shows all the dimensions of the building including a top angle, all four sides of the outer part, and all four sides of the inner part. I also included blueprints of the different types of cannons I will build separately.
Fort Point has seven-foot thick, brown brick walls. The two doors at the entrance are about a foot thick and between the two doors is a hallway with small holes in the wall (four on each side) for riflemen to shoot through. Past the second door is the inside of the base, which is an open, no-roof area surrounded by three floors of open sections. These floors are connected through open walls between each section. Three of the walls are filled with open sections, with holes in the walls for people to shoot cannons through. These walls also consist of a stairwell with a spiraling staircase and a lighthouse. The first floor does not have any cannon holes and, thus the only active cannons are two Napoleon cannons to guard the door. However, the second and third floors have cannon holes in every section. The roof of the base has numerous sections to mount Columbiad cannons. These stations consist of a square platform to mount the cannons. Unfortunately, I couldn't take pictures inside the lighthouse because that area was off-limits, but I know that the lighthouse contained a room for the light and living quarters for the family watching over it.
The blueprint for this fort is completed and next week marks the first week where I'll be building the fort. I am excited to finally be building the model as it's my main goal and focus for this senior project.
Week 4: Building Fort Point
Welcome back, everyone!
This week is the start of the building process. So I decided to build a rough model to see how my chosen dimensions would look in real life. I used cardboard as the material for the structure of the fort and wrote out the measurements on the cardboard to make sure I knew if my measurements were correct or not and what measurements needed to be changed.
After knowing how my measurements looked in real life, I then started building the final and more detailed model. I went to Lowe's and bought the equipment I needed for the structure: plywood for the building material, a circular saw to cut it, hot glue to connect the pieces, and some other equipment to ensure my safety. I had never used an electric saw and was originally scared of using but building the model allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and learn how to use these seemingly dangerous tools. Since this was my first time, cutting the wood took a lot longer than expected and thus, delayed the overall process. However, this was a learning experience for me and now that I have gotten more comfortable with using the tool and building the structure overall, I will be more efficient in building future bases.
As of this week, I have finished most of the structure and will complete it by early next week. Next week is also when the creativity will begin as I'll focus more on the details.
That's it for this week and I look forward to completing this model in the coming weeks!