Editing Peterson Space Force Base

{{Short description|US Space Force base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States}}
{{Redirect|Peterson Field|the [[IATA]], [[ICAO]], & [[FAA]] information ('''COS, KCOS''') for the airfield shared by this military installation|Colorado Springs Airport|airfield near [[Plains, Georgia|Plains]]|Peterson Field (Georgia)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name          = Peterson Space Force Base
| ensign        = 
| ensign_size   = 
| native_name   = 
| partof        = <!-- for elements within a larger site -->
| location      = [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]]
| nearest_town  = <!-- used in military test site infobox -->
| country       = United States
| image         = PetersonAFB.jpg
| alt           = Peterson SFB's Hartinger Building which is the headquarters of Space Operations Command and United States Space Command.
| caption       = Peterson SFB's Hartinger Building which is the headquarters of Space Operations Command and [[United States Space Command]].
| image2        = [[File:Emblem of Space Base Delta 1.svg|150px]]
| caption2      = Shield of [[Space Base Delta 1]]
| type          = [[List of United States Space Force installations|U.S. Space Force base]]
| coordinates   = {{Coord|38|49|25|N|104|41|42|W|name=Peterson AFB|notes=}}
| gridref       = 
| image_map     = 
| image_mapsize = 
| image_map_caption = 
| pushpin_map   = USA Colorado # USA # North America
| pushpin_mapsize = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| pushpin_relief = y
| pushpin_image = 
| pushpin_label = Peterson SFB
| pushpin_label_position = top
| pushpin_mark  = 
| pushpin_marksize = 
| ownership     = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| operator      = [[United States Space Force]]
| controlledby  = [[Space Base Delta 1]]
| open_to_public = <!-- for out of use sites/sites with museums etc -->
| site_other_label = <!-- for renaming "Other facilities" in infobox -->
| site_other    = <!-- for other sorts of facilities – radar types etc -->
| site_area     = <!-- area of site m2, km2 -->
| code          = <!-- facility/installation code, applies to US -->
| built         = {{Start date|1942}}
| used          = 1942 – present
| builder       = 
| materials     = 
| height        = <!-- height of tallest part, not above sea level -->
| length        = <!-- for border fences or other DMZs -->
| fate          = <!--changed from demolished parameter-->
| condition     = Operational
| battles       = 
| events        = 
| current_commander = [[Colonel (United States)|Col]] Zachary S. Warakomski
| past_commanders = Col [[James E. Smith (general)|James E. Smith]]
| garrison      = Space Base Delta 1 (Host)
| occupants     = <!-- squadrons only -->
| designations  = 
| website       = {{URL|https://www.peterson.spaceforce.mil/}}
<!-- begin airfield information  -->
| IATA          = COS
| ICAO          = KCOS
| FAA           = COS
| TC            = 
| LID           = 
| GPS           = 
| WMO           = 724660
| elevation     = {{cvt|1885.7|m}}
| r1-number     = 17L/35R
| r1-length     = {{cvt|4114.8|m}}
| r1-surface    = [[Concrete]]
| r2-number     = 17R/35L
| r2-length     = {{cvt|3359.5|m}}
| r2-surface    = [[Asphalt concrete|Asphalt]]
| r3-number     = 13/31
| r3-length     = {{cvt|2520.7|m}}
| r3-surface    = Asphalt
| h1-number     = 
| h1-length     = <!-- {{cvt| |m}} -->
| h1-surface    = 
| airfield_other_label = <!-- for renaming "Other facilities" in infobox -->
| airfield_other = <!-- for other sorts of airfield facilities -->
<!--  end airfield information   -->
| footnotes     = Airfield shared with [[Colorado Springs Airport]]<br />'''Source:''' [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=https://aeronav.faa.gov/d-tpp/1910/00087ad.pdf#nameddest=(COS) |title=Airport Diagram – Peterson AFB (KCOS)|date=12 September 2019|publisher=Federal Aviation Administration|access-date=16 September 2019}} }}</ref>
}}

'''Peterson Space Force Base''', previously '''Peterson Air Force Base''', '''Peterson Field''', and '''Army Air Base, Colorado Springs''', is a [[United States Space Force]] base that shares an airfield with the adjacent [[Colorado Springs Municipal Airport]] and is home to the [[North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD), the [[United States Space Force|Space Force]]'s [[21st Space Wing]], elements of the Space Force's [[Space Systems Command]], and [[United States Northern Command]] (USNORTHCOM) headquarters. Developed as a [[World War II]] [[air support base]] for [[Camp Carson]], the facility conducted [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] training and supported [[Cold War]] air defense centers at the nearby [[Ent Air Force Base]], [[Chidlaw Building]], and [[Cheyenne Mountain Complex]]. The base was the location of the [[Air Force Space Command]] headquarters from 1987 to 20 December 2019 and has had [[NORAD]]/[[NORTHCOM]] command center operations since the 2006 [[Cheyenne Mountain Realignment]] placed the nearby [[Cheyenne Mountain Complex]] on standby. On 26 July 2021, the installation was renamed Peterson Space Force Base to reflect its prominent role in the new space service.<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|last=Kerridge|first=Kasia|title=Peterson, Schriever and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force installations renamed to Space Force Monday|date=26 July 2021 |url=https://www.kktv.com/2021/07/26/peterson-schriever-cheyenne-mountain-air-force-installations-renamed-space-force-monday/|access-date=2021-07-26|publisher=KKTV}} }}</ref>

== History ==
Colorado military construction during the [[United States home front during World War II|buildup of US training installations]] prior to the [[bombing of Pearl Harbor]] included the 1940 [[Lowry Air Force Base|Lowry bombardier school]] at [[Denver]] and [[Camp Carson]] south of [[Colorado Springs, Colorado|Colorado Springs]] (HQ completed on 31 January 1942). Sites "in the vicinity of Colorado Springs" were assessed in the summer of 1941 for a [[Colorado World War II Army Airfields|USAAF airfield]],<ref>{{cite report|date=August 1941|title=Report on Sites for Military Airfield in the Vicinity of Colorado Springs, Colorado|last1=Stratton|first1=Major James H.|last2=Cox|first2=Lt L.E.|last3=Harmon|first3=Lt H.C.|location=available at USAFA Special Collections; Harmon, Harold C. Series One--Site Selection and Development; Box 1 Folder 1}}</ref> and during April 1942 the [[Photographic Reconnaissance Operational Training Unit]] (PROTU) was activated in a leased facility{{Where|date=October 2013}} at Colorado Springs.{{r|Futrell}}<!--p. 131 has "April 1942"--> On 6 May 1942, the site adjacent to the airfield of the 1926 Colorado Springs Municipal Airport was selected,{{r|Mueller}} and the airport's airfield was subsequently leased as an "air support field"* for Camp Carson under the "air support base development program".<!--{{r|Futrell}}{{rp|137-8}}--> In May 1942, units such as the [[5th Mapping Squadron]] (from [[Bradley Air National Guard Base|Bradley Field]]) arrived and used city facilities. The "[[2d Photographic Reconnaissance Group|Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance]]" (activated 7 May 1942 at [[Will Rogers Field]]<!--, [[Oklahoma City]]-->)<ref>{{cite report|title=Organization History (First Installment): Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance|location=Special Collections, USAF Academy Library (item 128.31:17)|quote=''From Activation 7  May 1942 to 31 December 1942''}}</ref> transferred to Colorado Springs, and the "2nd Group ... headquarters was situated in a former garage across the street from the Post Office, barracks were in the [[City Auditorium, Colorado Springs|city auditorium]] ... and the mess hall was located at the busy horseshoe counter of the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe railway]] [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Passenger Depot (Colorado Springs, Colorado)|station]]."{{r|Prinzo}}  Land at [[the Broadmoor]] was used for maneuvers, and the 2nd Group initially operated without aircraft.<ref name=Prinzo>{{Citation |type=document with quotation|date=c. 1945|last=Prinzo (Corporal, 2nd Grp payroll clerk)|title=[description of sites used by 2nd Photo Grp]}} (quoted by First Installment)</ref> Personnel{{Specify|reason=What unit(s)?|date=October 2013}} were also "housed temporarily at [[Colorado College]]" and a youth camp near the Woodmen sanitorium.{{r|Nash2012}}  (the [[14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron]] was located at the Kaufman Building on Tejon St.)<ref>{{cite book|last=Thole|first=David|title=Flying Lightning: The History of the 14th Fighter Squadron|date=24 August 2001|isbn=9780595199686 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10ErUxaoKtgC&q=%22Colorado+Springs%22+%22Kaufman+Building%22&pg=PA2|format=Google books|access-date=2013-10-09}}</ref>

=== Army Air Base, Colorado Springs ===
{{Distinguish|Colorado Springs Tent Camp{{!}}the 1943 Colorado Springs Tent Camp}}

"'''Army Air Base, Colorado Springs'''",* construction began after 10 May 1942, on "nothing more than a large patch of Colorado plain",{{r|HQmemo}} and the installation was placed under the Headquarters, [[United States Army Air Forces|United States "AAF]] [on] 11 June 1942".{{r|Mueller}} The 373d [[Base HQ and Air Base Sq]] was activated{{Where|date=October 2013|reason=on the base, or at a leased CO Springs facility?}} as the base operating unit on 20 June 1942 (replaced by the 214th [[Air force “unit” designations of the United States|AAF Base Unit]] in <!--25 March -->1944), and the base was assigned to the [[2nd Air Force]] on 22 June 1942.<!--{{r|Mueller}}--> On 7 July 1942, "HQ PROTU" was on the "Army Air Base, Colorado Springs" and was ordered to provide "four to five months of training to each individual".<ref name=HQmemo>HQ Memo to HQ PROTU, 7 July 1942 (quoted by First Installment)</ref> During air base construction, the [[20th Combat Mapping Squadron]] was activated on 23 July 1942, and used the Alamo Garage<ref>{{cite book|last=St. John|first=Philip A.|title=The Liberator Legend: The Plane and the People|year=1990|isbn=9780938021995|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ndt0h2LHETAC&q=%22Army+Air+Base%2C+Colorado+Springs%22&pg=PA57|access-date=2013-04-11}}</ref> on Tejon Street.<ref>{{citation|format=phone book image|year=1940|title=Colorado Springs Area Telephone Directory |url=https://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&oq=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&gs_l=hp.3..38l2.2494.3696.0.4039.3.3.0.0.0.1.1242.1562.0j2j7-1.3.0...0.0...1c.1.8.psy-ab.Kti3nTjY16s&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45107431,d.aWc&fp=ba0e4b184784c0e5&biw=1600&bih=793|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050720082857/http://www.google.com/#hl=en&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&oq=%22214+S.+Tejon%22&gs_l=hp.3..38l2.2494.3696.0.4039.3.3.0.0.0.1.1242.1562.0j2j7-1.3.0...0.0...1c.1.8.psy-ab.Kti3nTjY16s&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45107431,d.aWc&fp=ba0e4b184784c0e5&biw=1600&bih=793|archive-date=2005-07-20}}</ref> Runways were completed in August 1942,{{r|Nash2012}}  and [[eponym]] 1st Lt Edward J. Peterson crashed 8 August 1942 on [[takeoff|take off]] (1st Coloradoan killed at the airfield.)

=== Peterson Field ===
{{For|the "Colorado Springs Hqs [[Second Air Force#History|2AF]]" west of "Peterson Fld"{{r|June1944map}} after its 1943 move from [[Fort George Wright]] to a leased facility in <ref>"''Hist. 2d AF, 7 December 1941 to 31 December 1942'', v. 2, p. 370; OCE, Hist. Branch, ''Mil. Constr. in the United States Under the Direction of the [illegible] and the C of E'', v. 2, p. 258." (cited by Futrell Ch. IV, pp. 126 & 232)</ref> "Colorado Springs",{{r|Arnold}} Colorado|Second Air Force}}

'''Peterson Field''' was the airfield named on 13 December 1942,{{r|Nash}} and included the runway used by both the municipal airport and the military installation:<ref>{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}{{Full citation needed|date=May 2013}}</ref> "Army Air Base, Peterson Field", which had begun publishing the ''Wingspread'' base newspaper by 11 July 1942.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/32102346|title=Wingspread|date=4 May 2018|publisher=Colorado Springs, Colo. : Milo W. Williams|access-date=4 May 2018|via=Trove}}</ref> The "18 Dep Rpr Sq" was assigned to the military installation from 19 January – 29 April 1943,<!--1st of the "Units Assigned" per Mueller--> and the installation was assigned to the [[Third Air Force]] (5 March – 1 October 1943)<!--Mueller--> and by the end of the 1943 summer had tar paper barracks, an officer's club, and a theater in a [[Quonset hut|Quonset]].{{r|Didion}} After the base transferred to [[Second Air Force]] on 1 October 1943,{{r|Mueller}} in June 1944 Peterson Field began fighter pilot training{{Specify|reason=What unit?|date=October 2013}} with [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk|P-40N Warhawks]].{{r|Nash}} "In March 1943 the [[Third Air Force]] took over the photographic reconnaissance Operational Training Unit which had been operating at Peterson Field ... under the direct control of the Director of Photography since April 1942".<ref name=Futrell131>Quotation by Futrell Ch. IV, p. 131, which cites the source(s) on p. 234: ''Hist. 3d AF, Flying Training 1941 to 1944'', v. 1, p. [tbd]; ''Narrative Hist. Rpt., Peterson Fld.'', 29 April 1942 to 1 October 1943, v. 2, pp. 2–4, in AFSHO 287.50-1, v. 2.</ref>

=== Bomber Commands ===
The 4th [[Heavy Bombardment Processing]] Headquarters ("4 H Bomb Processing HQ") was activated on 10 June 1943<!--{{r|Mueller}}--> (the 1st B-29 landed at Peterson Field in the summer of 1943),{{r|Didion}} and bomber training by the 214th AAF Base Unit (Combat Crew Training School, Heavy) [[B-24 Liberator]]){{Failed verification|date=October 2013}} began after the [[383rd Bombardment Group]] relocated from [[Geiger Field]], Washington{{r|Nash}} on 26 October 1943.<!--Mueller p. 472--> In 1944 (11 June – 20 October), the [[XXI Bomber Command]] was assigned to Peterson; and the "HQ and HQ Sq" of [[XXII Bomber Command]] was assigned 14 October 1944 – 13 February 1945,<!--Mueller p. 472-4--> and by 17 August 1944, 4 bomb wings (313th through 316th) were assigned to the base — the last left on 7 June 1945.{{r|Mueller}} The [[3903rd Radar Bomb Scoring Group#Background|263rd AAF Base Unit]] became the Peterson "base operating unit" on 8 March 1945 (transferred to [[Andrews Field]] on 17 March 1946).{{r|Mueller}}{{rp|8,471}} The [[Army Air Forces Instructor School]]{{Specify|Gunnery, bombing, photography, or any type of instructor? What was the unit name? (Mueller doesn't identify a "School" being established.)|date=October 2013}} opened at Peterson Field in April 1945,{{r|Nash}} and the base was one of several that transferred to [[Continental Air Forces]] on 16 April 1945.<!--Mueller p. 472--> ([[VIII Bomber Command]] arrived 17 August 1945).<!--Mueller p. 474-->

The base was inactivated 31 December 1945 after the [[13th Bombardment Wing]] (17 October) and [[VIII Bomber Command]] ({{circa|lk=no|15 December}}) departed, and site management by the base operating unit ended on 17 December 1945.<ref>Mueller p. 471 claims Peterson's base operating unit was the 263rd AAF BU from 8 Mar 1945 – 17 December 1946 — during the inactive and surplus period, but Mueller p. 8 claims the 263rd AAF BU was at Andrews AFB from 17 March 1946 until 23 February 1948. Perhaps "263" is a Mueller typo that should be "268", which is the number of the base operating unit for the preceding period and that Mueller claims continued until 10 March 1946?</ref> In 1946, Peterson's last AAF Base Units were discontinued: 260th AAF Base Unit (Fighter Wing) in January, the 202nd AAF Base Unit (Special) in February, and the 268th AAF Base Unit (Instrument Instructor Unit) in March and the 201st (Headquarters Base Unit) in April (the [[72nd Fighter Wing]] was at the base from "4 January 1946 - 9 April 1946").<!--Mueller--> The 703rd AAF Base Unit (Hq, 53d AACS Group) moved to Kelly Field in February. Designated surplus on 29 July 1946,{{r|Mueller}} "the U.S. Government returned control{{Specify|reason=Was the lease terminated, and if so, did it have the typical clause for the fed gov't to reactivate it?|date=October 2013}} of the [air]field to the City of Colorado Springs".{{r|Toro}} Many of the base buildings were torn down.{{r|Toro}} In 1946, [[Tonopah Air Force Base|Tonopah AAF]] (Nevada, on 1 October), [[Cannon Air Force Base|Clovis AAF]] (New Mexico, 16 October), and [[Casper Army Airfield|Casper AAF]] (Wyoming, on 15 December) became detached installations of the inactive base for a short period.

During planning for the new [[United States Air Force]], Colorado's [[Arlington Auxiliary Army Airfield]] became a detached installation of the surplus base (1 January – {{circa|lk=no|10 October}} 1947),<!--Mueller--> and the "468th Construction Co (15th AF)" became the inactive base's operating unit in February 1947. The base with new construction was activated 29 September 1947 – 15 January 1948, then was "surplus"{{r|Mueller}} until after the notice in November 1950 to reactivate [[Air Defense Command]]. The "23 Photo Sq 19 May 1943-9 August 1948" remained throughout both inactive/surplus periods, and the "4600 Maint & Sup Sq" was established at the surplus base on 1 December 1950).{{r|Mueller}}

=== USAF installation ===
[[File:2021 NORAD and NORTHCOM Sept. 11 Commemoration 210911-F-HL664-024.jpg|thumb|The [[September 11 attacks|9/11 memorial]] at Peterson as it appears after the 20th anniversary commemoration of the event, with wreaths laid, on September 11, 2021.]]

The military base at the municipal field reactivated as an off-base installation of [[Ent Air Force Base]] on 1 January 1951 and was operated by Ent's 4600 Air Base Group.{{r|Mueller}} After being assigned to Peterson on 1 March 1952,{{r|Mueller}} the 4602d [[Air Intelligence Service]] Squadron had subordinate organizations at the "Defense Force Headquarters [on] [[Hamilton Air Force Base]], California, at [[Fairfax Field|Kansas City, Missouri]],{{Specify|reason=Was the DF headquarters at Fairfax Field?|date=October 2013}} and at [[Stewart Air Force Base]]" New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=4602d AISS Unit History Sampler |url=http://www.cufon.org/cufon/4602smpl1.htm |format=transcribed excerpts of ''Secret History of 4602D Air Intelligence Squadron''|publisher=Cufon.org|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004122638/http://www.cufon.org/cufon/4602smpl1.htm|archive-date=2013-10-04}}</ref> The 4600th Group became the [[4600th Air Base Wing]] on 8 April 1958 (moved to Peterson on 18 October 1972).{{r|Johnson}}{{rp|40}}<!--Mueller claims 1 November 1971--> The 4600th was replaced by the [[46th Aerospace Defense Wing]] on 1 April 1975.{{r|Johnson}}<!--Mueller p. 474 claims 15 March 1975--> In January 1968, [[Air Training Command]]'s 3253d Pilot Training Squadron at Peterson Field began light aircraft indoctrination for cadets. These operations moved to the [[United States Air Force Academy]] on 21 March 1974.<ref name=AETChistory>{{cite report|title=A Brief History of Keesler AFB and the 81st Training Wing|url=http://www.keesler.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090203-089.pdf|volume=A-090203-089 |pages=173, 198|access-date=2013-07-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904055045/http://www.keesler.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090203-089.pdf|archive-date=2012-09-04}}</ref>  The military base at Peterson Field gained its own base commander{{Specify|reason=Mueller is not clear on whether the Ent & Peterson base commander, "Col John R. Budner, 4 April 1972", continued as the Peterson commander but not the Ent commander.|date=August 2013}} on 28 February 1975.<!--{{r|Mueller}}-->

=== Primary installation === <!--term from Mueller-->
{{External media
|image1=[https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/?page=1 Peterson.AF.mil gallery]
|image3=JFK's Air Force One at Peterson during 1963 Chidlaw Building/Cheyenne Mountain visit
|image5=[https://archive.today/20131010033211/http://www.302aw.afrc.af.mil/photos/mediagallery.asp?galleryID=789 MAFFS aircraft at PAFB]
}}

Designated '''Peterson Air Force Base''' on 1 March 1975, when Ent AFB was being closed, Peterson was the last of the April 1945 [[Continental Air Forces]] airbases to be named an air force base. Also on 1 March, Peterson assumed several functions from Ent AFB, which became the "Ent Annex" of Peterson, 18 July 1975 – 7 February 1978{{r|Mueller}} (Peterson's off-base "Temporary Military Facility"<!--along Platte between Murray & Academy--> was opened for space training by 1986). During the first part of the reorganization that broke up ADCOM,{{r|Johnson}}{{rp|46}} the base "transferred to the [[Strategic Air Command]]" on 1 October 1979{{r|Toro}} (units transferred included the 47th Comm Sq to [[Air Force Communications Service|AFCS]] and the 46th Wing and 4602nd Computer Services Sq to SAC).{{r|Johnson}}{{rp|47}} ADCOM HQ offices at the [[Chidlaw Building]] became the [[Aerospace Defense Center]] at Peterson on 1 December 1979.

Peterson's NORAD COC Backup Facility achieved [[Full Operational Capability]] on 16 November 1982{{r|Brief}} from the [[Cheyenne Mountain Complex]] which was placed on warm standby.

[[File:210114-D-BN624-0138 (50836841477).jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|NORAD-USNORTHCOM headquarters at the Eberhart-Findley Building]]

The 1st Space Wing replaced the [[46th Aerospace Defense Wing#Cold War|46th Aerospace Defense Wing]] on 1 April 1983. Thereafter the 1st Space Wing transferred host unit responsibility to the 3d Space Support Wing activated on 15 October 1986. Army and other units transferred from the former [[Federal Building (Ent AFB)|Ent AFB Federal Building]] to Peterson Building 2{{citation needed|date=February 2015}} (renamed the Eberhart-Findley Building in October 2012).<ref name=Brief>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=http://www.norad.mil/Portals/29/Documents/History/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20NORAD.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=2012-09-21 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420161330/http://www.norad.mil/Portals/29/Documents/History/A%20Brief%20History%20of%20NORAD.pdf|archive-date=2015-04-20}} }}</ref> On 15 May 1992, the personnel and equipment of both the 1st SW and 3d SSW merged to become the 21st Space Wing. Peterson's Space Analysis Center was at the corner of Academy & Fountain Blvds by 2004 before moving on base to bldg 1470, and in 2004 the Space Operations School used a building along [[Interstate 25 in Colorado|I-25]] at Woodmen Drive.

[[File:AF_Space_Command_celebrates_Air_Force_birthday_160916-F-TM170-022.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|right|Members of the Peterson AFB [[High Frontier Honor Guard]] [[Posting the Colours]] at the Air Force birthday ceremony, September 2016.]]

The [[Cheyenne Mountain Realignment]] moved NORAD/USNORTHCOM operations to Peterson AFB in 2006. In 2006, the [[76th Space Control Squadron|76th Space Control Facility]] was constructed at Peterson <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/histbook.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=2013-05-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915103042/http://www.wbdg.org/ccb/AF/AFH/histbook.pdf |archive-date=2012-09-15}}</ref> (the squadron activated 22 January 2008). The [[MAFFS]] aircraft that fought the 2012 [[Waldo Canyon fire]] and 2013 [[Black Forest fire]] at Colorado Springs flew from Peterson AFB.

Some buildings from the Second World War have survived. Buildings remaining in 1996 were "the terminal, now the [[Peterson Air and Space Museum]], the Broadmoor hangar, and the Spanish House" next to the museum,<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite journal|last=Gates|first=SSgt Andrew|date=September 1996|title=Medal of Honor grove highlights Air Force heroes|journal=Guardian|location=Peterson AFB|publisher=21st Space Wing public affairs |pages=16–17|quote=Medal of Honor grove, an anchor point for the base's historic district}} }}</ref> along with Building 391,<!-- (currently occupied by 4th Manpower Requirements Squadron)--> Building 365,<!-- (Canadian Forces Support Unit)--> supply warehouses and office buildings,<!-- currently used by the 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron. Many original--> and aircraft hangars and maintenance shops.{{r|Nash2012}}

The base's Retiree Activities Office has the representative for the Air Force Retiree Council Area IV ([[Colorado]], [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], and [[Wyoming]]).<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|[http://www.peterson.af.mil/units/21stspacewingretireeactivitiesoffice.asp Peterson Air Force Base - 21st Space Wing Retiree Activities Office] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609062019/http://www.peterson.af.mil/units/21stspacewingretireeactivitiesoffice.asp|date=2013-06-09}} Peterson.af.mil (2004-10-01) Retrieved on 2013-09-18 }}</ref>

On 20 December 2019, Air Force Space Command was redesignated as the [[United States Space Force|U.S. Space Force]] and elevated to become an independent military branch.<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web |url=https://www.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheet|title=Fact Sheet|website=spaceforce.mil}} }}</ref> With the new military branch, the Fourteenth Air Force and its units became Space Force [[Space Operations Command]] and Air Force Space Command's headquarters was redesignated as the Pentagon.

== Based units ==
Flying and notable non-flying units based at Peterson Space Force Base.<ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|title=Peterson Units|url=https://www.peterson.af.mil/Units/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202160719/http://www.peterson.af.mil/units/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2006|access-date=31 July 2020|website=Peterson AFB|publisher=US Space Force}} }}</ref><ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=https://www.peterson.af.mil/Units/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061202160719/http://www.peterson.af.mil/units/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2006|title=Units of the 21st Space Wing|website=Peterson AFB|publisher=US Air Force|access-date=23 September 2019}} }}</ref><ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=https://www.mybaseguide.com/air_force/66-3586/peterson_afb_mission_partners|title=Peterson AFB – Mission Partners|date=8 October 2018|website=MyBaseGuide|access-date=23 September 2019}} }}</ref><ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=https://www.302aw.afrc.af.mil/Units/|title=Units|website=302nd Airlift Wing|publisher=US Air Force|access-date=23 September 2019}} }}</ref><ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=https://www.afcyber.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/944507/561st-network-operations-squadron/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220130113/http://www.afcyber.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/944507/561st-network-operations-squadron/|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2018|title=561st Network Operations Squadron|date=July 2018|website=Air Forces Cyber|publisher=US Air Force|access-date=23 September 2019}} }}</ref><ref>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|url=https://www.25af.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/671802/70th-isr-wing/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920024546/http://www.25af.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/671802/70th-isr-wing/|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 September 2017|title=70th ISR Wing|date=19 February 2019 |website=25th Air Force|publisher=US Air Force|access-date=23 September 2019}} }}</ref>

Units marked GSU are Geographically Separate Units, which although based at Peterson, are subordinate to a parent unit based at another location.
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}

=== [[United States Space Force]] (USSF) ===
'''[[Space Base Delta 1]]'''
* 21st Medical Group
** 21st Aerospace Medicine Squadron
** 21st Dental Squadron
** 21st Medical Operations Squadron
** 21st Medical Squadron
** 21st Medical Support Squadron
* 21st Mission Support Group
** 21st Civil Engineer Squadron
** 21st Communications Squadron
** 21st Contracting Squadron
** 21st Force Support Squadron
** 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron
** 21st Security Forces Squadron

'''[[Space Operations Command]] (SpOC)'''
* [[Space Delta 2]]
* [[Space Delta 3]]
** [[4th Space Control Squadron]]
** [[5th Space Control Squadron]]
** [[16th Space Control Squadron]]
** Space Delta 3 Operations Support Squadron
* [[Space Delta 7]]
** [[71st Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron]]
** [[72nd Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron]]
** [[73rd Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron]]

'''[[Space Systems Command]]  (SSC)'''
* Space Logistics Directorate (GSU)
* Range and Network Division (GSU)

=== United States Army ===
'''[[United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command|US Army Space & Missile Defense Command]] / Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC / ARSTRAT)'''
* 1st Space Brigade
** 1st Space Battalion
** 2nd Space Battalion
** 53rd Signal Battalion (Satellite Control)
*** Headquarters 53rd Signal Battalion (Satellite Control)
* Regional SATCOM Support Center West

=== Department of Defense ===
'''[[NORAD|North American Aerospace Defense Command]] (NORAD)'''
* Headquarters North American Aerospace Defense Command 
* NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center

'''[[United States Northern Command]] (USNORTHCOM)'''
* Headquarters United States Northern Command
* NORAD and USNORTHCOM Command Center
{{Col-break}}

=== [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) ===
'''[[Air Combat Command]] (ACC)'''
* [[Sixteenth Air Force|Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber)]] 
** [[690th Cyberspace Operations Group]]
*** 561st Network Operations Squadron (GSU)

'''[[Air Mobility Command]] (AMC)'''
* [[Eighteenth Air Force]]
** [[19th Airlift Wing]]
*** [[19th Operations Group]]
**** [[52nd Airlift Squadron]] (GSU) – [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130H Hercules]]

'''[[Air Force Reserve Command]] (AFRC)'''
* [[Tenth Air Force]]
** [[310th Space Wing]]
*** 710th Operations Group
**** [[380th Space Control Squadron]] (GSU)
**** [[428th Electromagnetic Warfare Flight]]
* [[Twenty-Second Air Force]]
** [[302nd Airlift Wing]]
*** [[302nd Operations Group]]
**** 34th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron
**** 302nd Operations Support Squadron
**** [[731st Airlift Squadron]] – [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130H Hercules]]
*** 302nd Maintenance Group
**** 302nd Maintenance Squadron
**** 302nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron
*** 302nd Mission Support Group
*** 39th Aerial Port Squadron
*** 302nd Civil Engineer Squadron
*** 302nd Communications Flight
*** 302nd Force Support Squadron
*** 302nd Logistics Readiness Squadron
*** 302nd Security Forces Squadron
** 302nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron

'''[[Air National Guard]]'''

* [[Colorado Air National Guard]]
** [[140th Wing]]
*** 140th Operations Group
**** 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron
**** [[200th Airlift Squadron]] (GSU) – [[Learjet 35|C-21A Learjet]]
{{Col-end}}

== References ==
{{Portal|Spaceflight}}

Despite the number of vintage records with "Army Air Base, Colorado Springs", Mueller in 1989 (p.&nbsp;471) claims the military installation next to the municipal airfield was initially named "Air Support Command Base" in May 1942, but does not identify an Air Support Command headquarters ever being at the air base, nor that base was even assigned to one of the support commands. 
{{Reflist |refs=

<ref name=Arnold>{{cite book|last=Arnold|first=Henry H.|author-link=Henry H. Arnold|edition=June 1944--Special Edition for AAF Organizations|date=May 1944|title=AAF: The Official Guide to the Army Air Forces |location=New York|publisher=Pocket Books}}</ref>

<ref name=Didion>{{cite journal|last=Didion|first=Joan|date=August 14, 1965|title=John Wayne: A love song|journal=Saturday Evening Post|pages=76–79|quote=In the summer of 1943 ... at Peterson Field [there were] tar-paper barracks and the temporary [air]strip and ... they brought in the first B-29. ... There was an Officer's Club, but no swimming pool; all the club had of interest was artificial blue rain behind the bar ... sat on folding chairs in the darkened Quonset Hut which served as a theater <!-- full quotation: "In the summer of 1943 I was eight, and my father and mother and small brother and I were at Peterson Field in Colorado Springs. A hot wind blew through that sommer, blew until it seemed that before August broke, all the dust in Kansas would be in Colorado, would have drifted over the tar-paper barracks and the temporary strip and stopped only when it hit Pikes Peak. There was not much to do, a summer like that: there was the day they brought in the first B-29, an event to remember, but scarcely a vacation program. There was an Officer's Club, but no swimming pool; all the club had of interest was artificial blue rain behind the bar. The rain interested me a good deal, but I could not spend the summer watching it, and so we went, my brother and I, to the movies. ... It was [[John Wayne]]'s 165th picture. It was [[Henry Hathaway]]'s 84th. It was number 34 for [[Dean Martin]], who was working off an old contract to [[Hal Wallis]], for whom it was independent production number 65. It was a Western called [[The Sons of Katie Elder]], and after the three-month delay they had finally shot the exteriors up in [[Durango]], and now they were in the waning days of interior shooting at [[Estudio Churubusco]] outside Mexico City. … Almost all the cast of Katie Elder had gone home, that last week; only the principals were left. Wayne and Martin and Earl Holliman and Michael Anderson Jr. and Martha Hyer. Martha Hyer was not around much, but every now and then someone referred to her as "the girl". They had all been together for nine weeks, six of them in Durango. We went two or three times a week, sat on folding chairs in the darkened Quonset Hut which served as a theater, and it was there, that summer of 1943 ... -->}}</ref>

<ref name=Futrell>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite report|last=Futrell|first=Robert F.|publisher=Air Historical Office|date=July 1947|title=Development of AAF Base Facilities in the United States: 1939–1945|volume=ARS-69: US Air Force Historical Study No 69 (Copy No. 2)}} }}</ref>

<ref name=June1944map>{{cite map|title=Army Air Forces Installations: 15 July 1944}} (included at 7 unnumbered Futrell pages between pages 156 and 157) '''NOTE''': The map shows the "COLORADO SPRINGS HQS 2AF" south-southwest of "PETERSON FLD", but perhaps is [[not-to-scale]]. The June 1944 ''AAF: The Official Guide to the Army Air Forces'' also identifies the "2nd Air Force" at "Colorado Springs" under "Brig. Gen. [[Uzal Girard Ent|U. G. Ent]]", so perhaps the general was in command of [[Ent Air Force Base|the tent camp that later was named for him]]. Also, since Futrell p. 128 vaguely states the 2AF HQ was at a "leased facility", citing "Hist. 2d AF, 1943, v. 1, pp. 129–155", perhaps that source names the specific leased facility (e.g., city building at the tent camp.)</ref>

<ref name=Johnson>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|compiled by {{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Mildred W.|date=31 December 1980|orig-year=Feb 1973 original by Cornett, Lloyd H. Jr|title=A Handbook of Aerospace Defense Organization 1946–1980 |url=http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf|publisher=Office of History, Aerospace Defense Center|location=Peterson AFB|pages=18, 40|access-date=2012-03-26|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061123115752/http://www.usafpatches.com/pubs/handbookofadcorg.pdf|archive-date=23 November 2006}} }}</ref>

<ref name="Mueller">{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite report|last=Mueller|first=Robert|year=1989|title=Air Force Bases|url=https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330255/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-026.pdf|volume=I: Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|isbn=0-912799-53-6|quote=Between 1 January 1951 and 28 February 1975 the base commander of Ent AFB also commanded Peterson Fld.|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20130816104806/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330255/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-026.pdf|archive-date=16 August 2013}} }}</ref>

<ref name=Nash>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|last=Nash|first=Jeff|title=Peterson Air Force Base: From tiny air field to sprawling complex|url=https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/?id=123116481|access-date=2013-08-15 |quote=October 1943. The 383rd Bomb Group relocated here from Geiger Field, Washington, and formed a combat crew training school utilizing the B-24 "Liberator" heavy bomber.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105172313/http://www.peterson.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123116481|archive-date=2014-11-05}} }}</ref>

<ref name=Nash2012>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite web|last=Nash|first=Jeff|date=2012-04-30|title=April 28 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Peterson Air Force Base|url=http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story_print.asp?id=123299816|publisher=AFSPC.af.mil|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022103436/http://www.afspc.af.mil/news1/story_print.asp?id=123299816|archive-date=2013-10-22}} (republication of [http://www.petemuseum.org/files/Pete_Field_History_Article.htm 2007 series of ''Space Observer'' articles)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017090931/http://www.petemuseum.org/files/Pete_Field_History_Article.htm|date=2013-10-17}} }}</ref>

<ref name=Toro>{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite book|last1=Toro|first1=MSgt. Radames|last2=Barrios|first2=MSgt. Ramon A.|date=1 August 1993|edition=Third|chapter=Chapter 1: Command Overview|title=Space Operations Orientation Course |publisher=21st Crew Training Squadron|location=Peterson AFB, Colorado|quote=At the end of the war in 1945, the U.S. Government returned control of the ''[Peterson]'' field to the City of Colorado Springs and many of the military buildings were torn down. In 1948 ... the 15th Air Force, then headquartered at Ent AFB ... One year later, the 15th Air Force relocated to March AFB California, and ... the Air Force portion of Peterson Field were placed on inactive status. ... Operational control at this time was provided by the 4600 Air Base Group ... On 1 October 1979, control of ''[Peterson AFB]'' was transferred to the Strategic Air Command. ... During December 1987, 2500 USSPACECOM and AFSPACECOM personnel relocated to their new Headquarters on Peterson AFB from the [[Chidlaw Building]] in Colorado Springs ...}} (p. 3) }}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Peterson Space Force Base}}
* {{Official website|https://www.peterson.spaceforce.mil}}

{{United States Space Force}}
{{USAF Space Command}}
{{Navboxes
|list =
{{Colorado Springs}}
{{Aerospace Defense Command}}
{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II}}
{{USAAF 2d Air Force World War II}}
{{COMilitary}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Installations of the United States Space Force in Colorado]]
[[Category:Military installations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Colorado Springs, Colorado]]
[[Category:Economy of Colorado Springs, Colorado]]
[[Category:Military history of El Paso County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in El Paso County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Military installations in Colorado]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in Colorado]]