Is Fort Marshall a Real Army Base? No – But Army Wives‘ Fictional Base Feels Authentic
Let‘s establish this right off the bat – Fort Marshall is not a real U.S. Army base that you could visit or enlist at. It exists only in the fictional world of the hit 2000s Lifetime TV drama Army Wives.
Premiering in 2007 and airing for 7 seasons until 2013, Army Wives followed the lives of four army spouses and their families living on the (fictional) Fort Marshall base. Through 107 episodes, this beloved series gave viewers an inside look at the unique bonds, challenges and community that develop among military families.
And people tuned in week after week. Army Wives was a rating success, averaging 3.8 million viewers per episode in its first season. Through its run, it was Lifetime‘s highest rated series ever and broke viewership records for their TV movies as well.
While Fort Marshall itself is fictional, the show did ground aspects of it in reality. Much of the filming took place at the real-world Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina. The Department of Defense and Air Force even supported production by allowing access to buildings, aircraft, equipment and active duty personnel to serve as extras.
This mixing of real military sites and people gave Fort Marshall an authentic vibe. They cleverly incorporated actual aspects of military bases like housing units, hangars, air strips and barracks into the show‘s sets and on location shoots.
In fact, Fort Marshall feels so believable that I speculate if it could inspire an future army base-set video game! Game publishers know military themes connect with a large demographic. With gaming technology improving all the time, a fully explorable 3D Fort Marshall could be an exciting setting for tactical multiplayer combat.
But until such a game exists, back to reality – Fort Marshall remains a fictional base, albeit one crafted to reflect real establishments like Fort Jackson in Columbia SC:
| Base | Fictional? | Size (acres) | Personnel | Active Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Marshall | Yes | Unknown | Unknown | Various fictional units |
| Fort Jackson | No | 53,000 | 50,000 | Army Training Center |
If Army Wives‘ portrayal of military family dynamics felt real to actual army spouses, it‘s a testament to the show‘s excellent production values. They delivered an authentic and memorable fictional base through their use of real world filming locations.
Over 7 seasons and over 100 episodes, Army Wives pushed boundaries in military storytelling and representation. It leaves an impressive legacy and certainly sparked my interest to learn more about the real bases and soldiers that inspire such great fiction.
So in closing, no Fort Marshall is not real and never will be. But it compelling existence in the world of Army Wives helped viewers understand the bonds and community that develop among military families – those ties feel real even if the base does not.
