Beckley MEPS, 12 BN, US Military Entrance Processing Command

As millions of Americans passed through the Armed Forces Induction Centers (AFIC) during World War II, citizens of West Virginia initially processed at the Beckley Induction Center, located in the basement of the old post office on Neville Street. The AFIC was later moved to the upstairs of the Sears and Roebuck building on Neville Street. By 1951, the AFIC had again relocated to 340 Prince Street

and was re-designated as the Armed Forces Examining Station (AFES). The Beckley AFES continued to provide entry processing throughout the Korean Conflict and the subsequent decade. In 1966, the station was re-designated the Armed Forces Entrance and Examination Station (AFEES). Selective Service registrants and volunteers processed through AFEES Beckley at 340 Prince Street until the advent of the All-Volunteer Force and its relocation in 1972 to 115 Prince Street. In 1982, the station was again re-designated as the Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). The MEPS moved to 200 Value City Center in 1989. In 1998 the MEPS was destroyed in a snowstorm and, for 14 months, operated out of personal residences and temporary warehouses. The Value City Center facility was rebuilt from the ground up and reopened in April, 1999. The Beckley MEPS finally relocated to its present location at the purpose-built, state of the art facility at 409 Wood Mountain Road, Glen Jean, West Virginia, on Monday, November 14, 2005.