Colorado is home to the famous Rocky mountains and is one of the more beautiful states in the United States. Colorado has many points of interest including Pikes Peak, Seven Falls, Rocky Mountain National Forest and many more. Many members of the military request to be stationed here due to the scenery and outdoor activities. Below is more information on the military bases in Colorado.
Map of Military Bases in Colorado
Fort Carson
Fort Carson sits in a beautiful location south of Colorado Springs and is known as “the Mountain Post” due to its closeness to the Rocky Mountains. The year-round climate there is very mild with an average temperature of 73 degrees during the summer and 33 degrees during the winter. Because it is so beautiful here, the base is one of the most requested locations in the Army.
This is a U.S. Army base that is home to the 10th Special Forces Group, the 4th Engineer Battalion, the Army Field Support Battalion Fort Carson, and the Air Force’s 13th Air Support Operations Squadron, among other groups. The base is one of two bases that are part of a plan to conserve water, energy, and waste in order to achieve a net zero amount by the year 2020. Several trainings occur here, including force-on-force maneuver and live fire.
Pueblo Chemical Depot
This installation is located in Pueblo County on about 23,000 acres of land. It is used as a storage site for chemical weapons, and the amount stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot (PCD) makes up about 7 percent of the nation’s original stockpile. It reports to the Chemical Materials Activity. There have been plans to destroy the chemical stockpile here, put in place by the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives in 2002. To destroy the weapons, they use a “neutralization followed by bio treatment” technology. It’s expected that all munitions will be destroyed by 2019.
Buckley Air Force Base
Buckley Air Force Base was established in 1942 and is located in Aurora, Colorado. Over 92,000 personnel serve here and work in a variety of operations, including space-missile warning capabilities, air operations, space communications, space surveillance, and other support functions. At the start of its operation, Buckley AFB housed several aircrews that trained primarily with the B-24 Liberator and the B-17 Flying Fortress. It also had an Arctic Training School that was meant to help aircrews transition into the Air Transport Command’s Alaskan Wing. Buckley AFB also deployed units to take part in Operation Northern Watch, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson AFB shares an airfield with the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport. The AFB is headquarters to the U.S. Northern Command, the North American Aerospace Defence Command, and the Air Force Space Command. It was originally created as a support station for Camp Carson, also located in El Paso County. The base was inactivated for about two years starting in 1945 when the units operating there left or were discontinued. It was then in a surplus status until 1975 when it was finally named an official Air Force Base.
Schriever Air Force Base
This base is operated by the Air Force and was built in 1983 just east of Colorado Springs. Around 8,100 personnel serve here. The base was originally named Falcon Air Force Station but was renamed in 1998 after General Bernard Adolph Schriever, who was known as the father of American ballistic missile programs. The base now hosts the Air Force Space Command and the 50th Space Wing. Interestingly, Schriever AFB controls and commands more than 170 satellites for the Department of Defense that are used for navigation, communications, and warning signals. In fact, this installation is the GPS’s main control point.
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