Editing Sandia Base (section)

==Manzano Base==<!---probably should have its own article. material on other NSS sites is non-[[WP:TOPIC]] and should be deleted or moved to a higher level article on NSS sites-->
In August, 1947, the [[Denver Post]] ran a story that claimed the military was building a secret base consisting of huge caverns for atomic weapons defense purposes.  The Post said the new base was in the [[Manzano Mountains]] southeast of Sandia Base. The military responded by issuing a statement that operations and construction near Sandia Base were top-secret. In fact, however, the AFSWP was building one of several bases around the country that would be used for nuclear weapons storage. The AFSWP code-named the base "Site Able."

Construction of Site Able was delayed by a strike in which laborers demanded a 25-cent per hour increase in their minimum wage of $1.75 per hour.<ref>Albuquerque Journal, ''Quick Peace Seen in Secret Project Walkout Near Here'', April 13, 1948, p.1, col. 5</ref>

On February 22, 1952, the now-completed Site Able was renamed Manzano Base and turned over to the operational control of the Air Force.  The Denver Post story apparently was correct insofar as it described the general nature of the base. What appeared to be secure bunkers were visible to people (mostly military personnel) who went to a recreational camping area nearby known as Coyote Canyon. The military, however, never officially confirmed the nature of the activities at Manzano Base. At one point, a military spokesman said that Manzano Base had nothing to do with Sandia Base.<ref>Las Cruces Sun-News, ''Strike Stops Work at Vital Secret Base'', April 13, 1948, p.8, col. 5</ref> Manzano has since been identified as the first of six original National Stockpile Sites (NSS) (for nuclear weapons). The other original NSS installations similar to Manzano were: Site Baker at Killeen Base, adjacent to [[Robert Gray Army Airfield|Gray Air Force Base]] and [[Fort Hood]], Texas; Site Charlie at [[Campbell Army Airfield|Campbell Air Force Base]] and adjacent to [[Fort Campbell]] (Tennessee and Kentucky); Site Dog at Bossier Base, adjacent to [[Barksdale Air Force Base]], Louisiana; Lake Mead Base, adjacent to [[Nellis Air Force Base]], Nevada; and [[Medina Base]], adjacent to [[Lackland Air Force Base]], Texas.

On July 1, 1971, Manzano Base was merged, along with Sandia Base, into Kirtland Air Force Base.