Redstone Arsenal

Redstone Arsenal is located in Huntsville, in the northern part of Alabama. It hosted close to 2000 inhabitants at the 2010 census. The place is operated by the US Army and hosts a multitude of tenant units. However, many of them are in a relocating process due to the 2005 BRAC commission. The military base is responsible for the space and rocket operations of the United States of America, not to mention about manufacturing the first ballistic missiles.

History

The base was initially established as Huntsville Arsenal right before the United States of America decided to join World War II, in 1941. It was established as a manufacturing site for chemical weapons. There was already one in Maryland, but the authorities felt the necessity of having another one. Close to 600 families had to be relocated for the new base to be constructed. Plenty of the buildings left behind were razed. During World War II, the arsenal manufactured and stored plenty of such weapons, like mustard gas or phosgene. The current laws prohibited the use of such weapons after a Geneva convention. However, they were allowed only if the enemies started first, in a defensive strategy. The plant was renamed to Redstone Arsenal in 1943 due to the red soil in the area. Over the entire World War II, the place built more than 27M chemical weapons and over 45M shells. After the war ended, the base adopted a standby position. A few years later, it was inactivated. Most of its land was leased for agricultural farms, while the buildings were rented for industrial purposes.

During the Korean War, the base was reactivated. It produced almost 39M sets of chemical ammunitions. It also developed the Redstone rocket. Things haven’t changed too much for the upcoming conflicts. However, since the laws became stricter and stricter, the base capabilities were significantly reduced. These days, the military facility mission hasn’t changed at all. It is still a very powerful center for development and testing operations regarding the missiles used by the US Army. As a drawback, the local school was relocated to another base after operating in the area for more than 50 years in a row.

Units

There are currently five units hosted at Redstone Arsenal, consisting of multiple centers, offices and regiments – the Aviation and Missile Research, the Materiel Command, the Missile Defense Agency, the Aviation and Missile Research, the Aviation and Missile LCMC and the Space and Missile Defense Command. They work together in a successful attempt to fulfill the current mission of this base.

Housing

HSO (Housing Service Office) is the service responsible with the accommodation opportunities at Redstone Arsenal. The service is split into two branches – the single soldiers and the troops who want to bring in their families too. Other than that, your rank is just as important, not to mention about the duration of your deployment. Get in touch with the office early to find out how you should deal with your application, otherwise you risk being left out.