CoBases – US Military Bases

Category: New Mexico

How many military bases are in New Mexico?

There are four military bases in New Mexico.

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR)
The largest rocket range of United States Army is the White Sands Missile Range which covers a 3,200 square miles in the southern part of New Mexico and five other nearby counties. Otera Range and the Oscura Mesa bombing range are found in this installation area. Fort Bliss Range Complex which occupies 600,000 acres makes the place an ideal location for the military testing.

White Sands Missile Range Facts
- Website: Visit WSMR Website ›
- Location: southern New Mexico
- Phone: (505) 678-2121
- Latitude: 32.942996
- Longitude: -106.418982
- DSN: 258-2121
White Sands Missile Range objective is to offer the best service in the following areas such as design, test research, experimentation, development, training and assessment for new missile procedures. At present, White Sands Missile Range conducts the following operations of the Solar Dynamics Observatory, Orion Project Launch Abort flight Test Complex Ground Support for the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite and the different operations related to missile testing and recovery.

The location of Sands Missile Range is perfect for various applications in support for the missile testing. The main testing range is found in Tularosa Basin in the south-central part of New Mexico and the other range is the Electronic Proving Ground situated in the base of Huachuca Mountains in the southeastern part of Arizona. The main range has an area of 40 miles by 100 miles.

This range is bounded by El Paso on the south, Alamogordo on the north eastern part and Las Cruces on the west and the mountains that have a height of 9,000 feet which serve as a good location for various missile testing. The main range has dry climate with rainfall of 12 inches yearly and has low humidity while the other range has perfect weather with open space, good visibility perfect environment for testing the electronic war equipments and other communication facilities.

White Sands Missile Range goal is to best virtual and live missile range facility for joint system, integration, component and integration in supporting their efforts in the wartime applications and transformation.
July 1, 2011
Cannon Air Force Base
It is an Air Force base located in Curry County in New Mexico State of United States. And it is operated by Air Force Special Operation that commissioned The 27^th Special Operations Wing, which is a newly deployed wing on the base. The base was built in 1943 as Army base but it was later remained in honor of General John K. Cannon. The base had been under political pressure for some time and it was suggested to shutdown the base; later all F-16s were taken away from the base. Today it is decided to keep the base and replace old F-16s with newer ones. It received much pressure from the government at the time, but with more than 50 years of service it was decided to keep the base.

Cannon Air Force Base Facts
- Website: Visit Cannon AFB Website ›
- Location: Curry County, near Clovis, New Mexico
- Phone: (505) 784-3311
- Latitude: 34.384543
- Longitude: -103.316387
- DSN: 681-1110
Talking about its role in World War II, the base was first build to provide civil service and it was named as Portair Field during 1920s, but was later turned into base in 1930. Later the base was used for bomber site and it was again remained to Clovis Army Air Field. The base was also center to a major training and exercise facility for Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the base was assigned different wings and squadrons.

The base also offered its services in cold war and there were many plans to make New Mexico Cannon base a permanent station for Boeing B-29 Superfortress during Cold War. The base became a center of operations in the surrounding area and was designated with Strategic Air Command. The SAC comprised of some of the most sophisticated missiles and bombers, which were stationed on New Mexico Cannon base; it included Boeing B-52 Stratofortress used for long range missions.

The base has around more than 2000 employees comprising of both civilians and military, and there are plans to include more new jet planes to the base.
June 25, 2011
Holloman Air Force Base
It is an Air Force Base located in the Otero County in New Mexico State in United States. It is also a census controlled area with a population of little above 2000 and the base is commissioned 49^th Wings of Air Combat Command short for ACC, which comprise of some of the most highly sophisticated and modern airplanes such as F-22 Raptor, F-117 by Lockheed and good range of McDonnell Douglas. It is also a census controlled area having population of little more than 2000 comprising of civilians and military personnel.

Holloman Air Force Base Facts
- Website: Visit Holloman AFB Website ›
- Location: Otero County, near Alamogordo, New Mexico
- Phone: (505) 572-6511
- Latitude: 32.837294
- Longitude: -106.096872
- DSN: 572-6511
Talking about its services the base was established in 1942 and was named as Alamogordo Air Field. It was first decided that the base would be used for British Overseas Training Program, but the decision was reserved when Japanese attacked on the islands of Hawaii in 1942. The United States Army decided to train their new soldiers on the base, eventually the base went under the command of United States Army Air Force. The base became the center of military training of several wings and groups.

After World War II it was not certain if the base will offer its services, but the decision was changed when Air Force Logistics Command announced to use the base for testing of missiles and air planes. The Holloman Air Development Center was built on the base where numerous missiles were tested.

The base also has the honor to serve some of the fastest jet planes in the world. It has world’s fastest runway for jet planes and there are more number of F-16s than any other jet planes. It also served as the home to 479^th Tactical Training Wing that started in 1977 to train pilots to fly McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle as there is large number of F-15 stationed on the base, which gives it an advantage over other bases.
June 24, 2011
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is the third largest air base under the control of Air Force Material Command which is situated in Bernalillo County in the southeaster part of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The base former names were Albuquerque Army Base and Kirtland Army Air Field until it is named as Kirtland Air Force in honor of Colonel Roy C. Kirtland, the oldest pilot at the time of his death and one of the pilots who flew the Wright airplanes on 1941.

Kirtland Air Force Base Facts
- Website: Visit Kirtland AFB Website ›
- Location: Bernalillo County, near Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Phone: (505) 846-0011
- Latitude: 34.986121
- Longitude: -106.51379
- DSN: 246-0011
It was established on 1941 and houses the Nuclear Weapons Center of the Air Force Material Command, 58th Special Operations Wing, 377th Air Base Wing, and the 498th Armament Systems Wing alongside with the seven squadrons and ten groups. The Nuclear Weapons Center function is to provide nuclear knowledge in guaranteeing the safety and reliability of the nuclear armaments in support to the Air Force and the National Command Structure. It is also responsible for the purchase, maintenance, and modernization of the nuclear programs for the Department of Energy and Department of Defense.

The Kirtland Underground Munitions Storage Complex (1992) started on 1992 at Kirtland which is biggest storage facility for keeping nuclear weapons in the world. It is also responsible for the maintenance, shipping and storage for the US Navy and the US Air Force. The Kirtland nuclear storage facility is high end state of the art structure standing in the underground of 300,000 square feet area with gravity bombs and maintains warheads for the Air Launched Cruise Missile but the warheads can not perform its mission until they have passed the nuclear safety procedure.

The Kirland Air Force Base and the Albuquerque International Airport share the same runways making the place a military-civil airport. It employs 4,200 active military men, 1,000 Air National Guard and 3,200 Air Force Reserve.
June 18, 2011