[2][3] It was previously named for a Civil War officer, Confederate Colonel Edmund Rucker.

Part of the Dale County section of the base is a census-designated place; its population was 4,636 at the 2010 census.

[6] On 5 January 2023 William A. LaPlante, U.S. under-secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment (USD (A&S)) directed the full implementation of the recommendations of the Naming Commission, DoD-wide.

[8] The U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence is the dominant military facility at Fort Novosel.

Training, doctrine, and testing are all key parts of the center's mission to develop Army Aviation's capabilities.

1st Battalion, 11th Aviation Regiment, operates and manages air traffic control services for USAACe/Fort Novosel and the National Airspace System.

[15] 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment trains future air traffic controllers and aviation operations specialists who have recently graduated United States Army Basic Training, or are transferring from another Military Occupational Specialty.

1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment operates from Hanchey Army Heliport and conducts graduate level training using the AH-64E Apache Longbow helicopters.

[24] Fort Novosel (situated on 58,000 acres (235 km2) of sub-marginal farmland, and formerly a wildlife refuge) was opened on 1 May 1942 as "Camp Rucker".

[25] In September 1942, 1,259 additional acres south of Daleville were acquired to construct an airfield to support the training camp.

It damaged buildings and helicopters on the post and devastated two nearby trailer parks, killing four people and injuring 88, all army dependents.

An F3 tornado struck the post on 29 December 1973, causing minor damage to residences and striking a tank storage area.

A second F3 tornado hit a day later, heavily damaging 30 government and residential buildings at Fort Rucker, 5 of which were destroyed.

[26][27] The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act calls for the establishment of an eight-person committee to develop a plan to remove all names, symbols, displays, and monuments that honor or commemorate the Confederacy from all Department of Defense assets, including the former Fort Rucker.

[28] In 2021, the family of Hal Moore started a petition to rename the fort in honor of Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first black brigadier general in the USAF.

[29] The Naming Commission later recommended that the fort be renamed in honor of Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, an Army aviator.

Fort Novosel is in the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) as its local school district.