Schriever Air Force Base

Located close to Colorado Springs in the central part of Colorado, Schriever AFB is operated by the Air Force and one of the few military bases located in the area. It is only 16 km away from Peterson AFB, a similar base operated by the same force. This base was named in the memory of Bernard Adolph Schriever. He was one of the first initiators of the multitude of programs dealing with ballistic missiles today. A lot of people consider him the father of this technology. The base is responsible for the full support for over 170 satellites.

History

The base is among the “youngest” on the United States of America territory. The construction began in the ’80s. The groundbreaking festivity was held in the spring of 1983. The base was built without any major military purposes. It was established as the CSOC – Consolidated Space Operations Center. However, once the construction was over, the officials figured out it was more than that a center, so they decided to rename it right before opening it to Falcon Air Force Station. The first unit joined the base two years later, in 1985 – the 2-nd Space Wing. The whole base was relatively small and included 12 buildings only. It hosted not more than 230 individuals after the 2-nd Space Wing joined in. In 1987, the local authorities took control over the satellites control. In 1988, the new station was renamed again, after it was improved a little and turned into an actual base. The initial unit managed to support it for 7 years only, until 1992. It was deployed then to make some room for a new one – the 50-th Space Wing.

In 1998, the base was renamed again to what it is today, in the memory of the retired pioneer of ballistic missile programs. Believe it or not, this base is the only one run by the Air Force that took the name of an official personality who was still alive. Bernard Adolph Schriever passed away 7 years later, in 2005.

The history of Schriever AFB is relatively short. It didn’t have too much time to step into any major conflicts, not even the latest ones. There aren’t any notable events in the history. However, there is one black spot that has marked 2011. In November, 2011, one of the buildings was taken over by a pilot who had a gun. In the end, he decided to surrender to the local authorities. The good news is that no one was hurt and everything went well.

Units

Schriever AFB currently houses the 50-th Space Wing, responsible for over 170 satellites. Its ability and capability turn this base into one of the best centers in the world. There are also a few tenant units hosted on site, such as he 21-st Medical Group, the 50-th Space Wing or the 310-th Space Wing.

Housing

When relocating to Schriever AFB, you should consider yourself lucky to join one of the latest bases in the USA. You need to contact the local housing service and get a sponsor to guide you throughout the housing process. You can also choose to get hosed in the off site privatized system.