Fort Cavazos, Texas, is a large active-duty United States military post. It houses tens of thousands of military personnel and their family members, as well as civilian support staff. Fort Cavazos lies 2 miles (3 kilometers) west of Killeen, and covers about 214,000 acres (87,000 hectares). North Fort Cavazos lies 17 miles (27 kilometers) to the north.
Fort Cavazos was founded in 1942 as Camp Hood and named for John B. Hood, a Confederate Army general who commanded the Texas Brigade. It became a permanent fort in 1950. In 2009, Fort Hood was the site of a mass shooting. The gunman, an Army psychiatrist stationed at the fort, shot dozens of people, killing 13.
In 2023, the fort’s name was changed to honor General Richard Edward Cavazos. Cavazos, a Texan and Mexican American, served in the Korean War (1950-1953) and Vietnam War (1957-1975). Cavazos became the first Hispanic American to achieve the rank of four-star general.
