Fort Lee, Virginia 2025

Fort Lee is a United State Army post located in Prince George County, Virginia, and it is also a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 7,279 as of the 2020 census. The post is named after the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. It is also home to the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command, U.S. Army Quartermaster Center and School, U.S. Army Ordnance School, U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School, Defense Commissary Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, Department of Defense Education Activity and many other organizations.

Fort Lee is 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Richmond, Virginia, on U.S. Route 460. It primarily borders the outer, western edge of Prince George County, surrounding the city of Hopewell. The county- Equivalent Arlington County is itself an enclave within the incorporated independent city of Alexandria, on the west side of that city. Initially, the post was established in 1917 as Camp Lee, a training ground for artillery and engineer regiments. It was renamed Fort Lee in 1950.

U.S. soldiers from around the world are trained at Fort Lee, Virginia, in Quartermaster and Ordnance instruction (training and development), including petroleum and water treatment, petroleum and oil management, combat service support, and automation and computer systems, as well as the Army's sole financial management school. Logistics, supply chain management, culinary arts, transportation and maintenance, and ordnance are just some of the many operational and tactical level disciplines covered by the post's training programs.

In addition to training enlisted personnel, Fort Lee is also home to several advanced studies programs, including the Army's Logistics College, the Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School, the Quartermaster School, and the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School. The United States Defense Commissary Agency (DECA) and the United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) also call Fort Lee, Virginia, home.

Lee's Army, one of two army-themed restaurants is military-owned and themed-named, of course, after the famous leader, Gen. Robert E. Lee. The menu is a greatest hits package of basic grilled diner foods. A relic of the era, the Southwest Diner is an eight-minute drive from Fort Lee's front gate and looks like a '70s-era UFO, even showing up in a 1998 National Geographic Magazine article by writer Bill McKibben complaining about themed restaurants. It sits off a decidedly unhistoric road surrounded by strip malls and a Kmart. Along with a jukebox, the Southwest Diner has been playing host to karaoke for years, but when we stopped by for a visit last weekend, the only war being waged was between respectful karaoke hosts - a gentle older woman who asks kindly that you remember to take your turn - and old-school tunes typical of karaoke. Beyond that, the real spectacle is in the people watching. After a few visits and positive interactions at the counter, the staff gave us a small tour of the kitchen and a copy of the menu, the items of which are distributed across both A- and B-sides, just like the hits of the '60s through the '80s played in between the smooth R&B as patrons order their chicken quesadillas or open-faced hot turkey sandwiches.

In short, Fort Lee's Southwest Diner is a small but mighty local establishment near Fort Lee in Virginia that serves to connect local cultures.