| Fort Bliss |
Index for Fort |
Website Links For Fort Bliss |
Information AboutFort Bliss |
|
History Fort Bliss was staffed in 1849 to guard El Paso . It was originally located along the banks of the Rio Grande , overlooking Mexico, but was later moved northeastward 10 miles (16 km) to its current location. To this day, the walls of the Fort Bliss Officers Club still contain adobe bricks from over a century ago, and the installation has survived, in contrast to Fort Selden , New Mexico (where Arthur MacArthur was posted, when Douglas MacArthur was a boy), 45 miles (72 km) to the northwest, which is crumbling back into desert. There is a replica of the original Fort Bliss on the post simulating the adobe style of construction. The troops at Fort Bliss participated in John J. Pershing 's expedition against Pancho Villa 's raids on New Mexico; they were housed in buildings which still stand on the post. Other items of interest include the Buffalo Soldier memorial statue and a missile museum. Fort Bliss trains thousands of U.S. Soldiers. Before 1989, the base was used for Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT). The 1/56 ADA Regiment , part of 6th ADA Brigade under TRADOC . Before 1989, 1/56 had three basic training companies and two AIT battries. Now the mission is three Air Defense batteries (AIT, Officer's Basic Course, and Captain's Career Course) and one company that trains army truck drivers (MOS 88M). Fort Bliss is home to a large number of maintenance crews and supply units, and serves as one of the Army's premier bases for test driving tanks and other equipment. The fort also houses thousands of military vehicles, among them all the equipment needed to set up Patriot Missile sites. Fort Bliss is the home of the United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center (FBADACEN) , and monitors missile launches conducted by White Sands Missile Range , located 70 miles (110 km) to the north, in New Mexico . The base is the largest maneuver area in the continental United States, encompassing approximately 1,177,000 acres (4,760 km&2), almost the size of Rhode Island . In the post 9-11 era, Fort Bliss has served as one of the major deployment centers for troops bound for Iraq and Afghanistan . Included on the fort is Biggs Army Airfield (formerly Biggs AFB ), which was the site for the return of the 507th Maintenance Company , also based at Fort Bliss. A large medical installation, William Beaumont Army Medical Center and a Veterans Administration center serve the military and retired-military population here, including Omar N. Bradley , in his last days. Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 On May 13 the Pentagon recommended realigning this base to include approximately 16,000 new troops (and their families) from the U.S. 1st Armored Division currently stationed in Germany . The panel also recommended that the Air Defense Artillery School and its accompaning equipment (including the Patriot Missile Anti-Aircraft/Anti Missile defense system) be moved to Fort Sill . On August 25 officials representing Fort Bliss pleaded their case for maintaning the ADA school and its accompaning equipment at Fort Bliss, citing among other thing the size of Fort Bliss and the history of the ADA school in the region. The BRAC Commission ultimatly ruled against Fort Bliss and, pending the approval of President Bush, the roughly 4,500 affected soldiers will be heading for Fort Sill at some point in the near future. Geography Fort Bliss is located at 31°48'7" North, 106°25'29" West (31.801847, -106.424608). According to the United States Census Bureau , the portion of the base occupied by housing has a total area of 16.0 Km&2 (6.2 Mi&2 ). 16.0 km&2 (6.2 mi&2) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water. Demographics As of the Census of 2000, there were 8,264 people, 1,527 households, and 1,444 families residing in the installation. The Population Density was 517.1/km&2 (1,340.1/mi&2). There were 2,309 housing units at an average density of 144.5/km&2 (374.4/mi&2). The racial makeup of the installation was 58.11% White , 25.11% African American , 1.33% Native American , 2.35% Asian , 0.69% Pacific Islander , 8.93% from Other Races , and 3.48% from two or more races. 19.31% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 1,527 households out of which 80.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 84.5% were Married Couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 5.4% were non-families. 4.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 0.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.54 and the average family size was 3.62. In the post the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 33.6% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 2.3% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 167.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 204.8 males. The median income for a household in the installation was $35,970, and the median income for a family was $34,679. Males had a median income of $19,920 versus $17,227 for females. The Per Capita Income for the installation was $13,201. 11.0% of the population and 9.5% of families were below the Poverty Line . 12.5% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. External links Further reading Metz, Leon C. ''Desert Army: Fort Bliss on the Texas Border'' Mangan Books ISBN 0-930208-36-6 |