Armed Forces Retirement Home

The Armed Forces Retirement Home is the nation's oldest retirement community for enlisted military veterans. Established by Congress in 1851, a permanent trust fund was established and was fed by monthly, by active duty payroll deductions of 25 cents, when the average pay of a soldier was $7 a month. Fines and forfeitures from the armed forces and the monthly withholding have provided the principal support for the Home throughout its history. In 1991, Congress incorporated the U. S. Naval Home in Gulfport, MS, and U. S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home into an independent establishment in the Executive Branch of the Federal government known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH). Each facility was maintained as a separate entity of the Retirement Home for administrative purposes. In 2001, Congress renamed the U. S. Naval Home and the U. S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home the Armed Forces Retirement Home - Gulfport and the Armed Forces Retirement Home - Washington, respectively.