Colorado Springs Military Connection
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Colorado Springs isn’t just known for its beautiful mountain scenery, outdoor activities, and Pikes Peak. It’s also got a huge military population including one of the most well-known facilities in the world.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD and the Cheyenne Mountain complex date back to the Cold War era. The complex built under 2,000 feet of granite in 1958 was used for years to monitor US and Canadian Air Space for missiles, space systems, and foreign aircraft.
The mountain is now basically a backup site with the main operations at Peterson Air Force Base.
Johana Hernandez, NORAD’s Future Operations Planner says the mission is still to protect the homeland from all types of threats using information from all domains.
“It can be space, right that’s the newest frontier that we talk about, it could be airspace, it could be maritime,” says Hernandez
There are five military bases in the Colorado Springs area.
Hernandez continues, “You have your space forces, you have Fort Carson right, with the mountain post over there, you have Schriever and all its space ability and capabilities, now if we bring those all together, now you have more of a bigger unity and more of a bigger communal front.”
Colorado Springs is a very patriotic town with a lot of pride in the men and women who serve and come through the area.
The Fort Carson Army post is known as the best hometown in the Army. The US Air Force Academy brings in a lot of tourists and plans to open a new visitor’s center within the next year.
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