The Pentagon is a true American marvel. This immense structure is the largest office building in the world, claims four zip codes, and possesses a whopping six million square feet of floor space! The construction of the headquarters for the U.S. Department of Defense (once the U.S. War Department) has a storied history. The plans for the pentagonal design were based on the irregular shape of the proposed building site located east of Arlington National Cemetery. Plans for that location were scrapped, but the design and shape remained. In order to conserve precious steel at the start of WWII, the building is mainly constructed with reinforced concrete. Builders also placed a series of ramps throughout the building in lieu of steel elevators. The structure was limited to 5 stories in height and 2 subterranean floors, in another steel (and skyline) preserving effort.

There is no housing at The Pentagon, so if you would like to live on post you will be choosing between Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Southwest DC, or Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. When assigned to The Pentagon, service members often report to alternate locations. There are offices in Crystal City, Arlington where many spend their long work hours, while some even report to offices in DC or other installations.

The Pentagon is located on the very tip of Northern Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall and Arlington National Cemetery are to the northeast, and Washington Reagan National Airport is its southeastern neighbor. The Metro’s Yellow and Blue lines stop at The Pentagon, and there are several other public transit options available for its almost 30,000 workers.