Fort Bliss

Geography

Fort Bliss is located in El Paso County, Texas, and Doña Ana / Otero counties, New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It has an area of about 1,700 square miles (4,400 km2). The garrison's land area is 1.12 million acres (0.45×10^6 ha), ranging to the boundaries of the Lincoln National Forest and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Fort Bliss includes the Castner Range National Monument. The portion of the post located in El Paso County, is a census-designated place with a population of 8,591 in the 2010 census.

Units

Fort Bliss is home to the 1st Armored Division, which returned to US soil in 2011 after 40 years in Germany. The division is supported by the 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade. The installation is home to Joint Task Force North, a joint service command. JTF North supports federal law enforcement agencies in the conduct of counterdrug/counter transnational organized crime operations. It facilitates DoD training in the United States Northern Command area of responsibility to disrupt transnational criminal organizations and deter their freedom of action to protect the homeland and increase DoD unit readiness.

The 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command is a theater-level Army air and missile defense multicomponent organization with a worldwide, 72-hour deployment mission. It is the Army Forces Command and Joint Force Land Component Commanders' organization that performs critical theater air- and missile-defense planning, integration, coordination, and execution functions.

The Joint Modernization Command (JMC) plans, prepares, and executes Joint Warfighting Assessments and other concept and capability assessments, provides objective analysis and feasible recommendations to enhance Multi Domain Command and Control, and informs Army Modernization decisions. On order, JMC conducts directed assessments in support of the Cross Functional Teams of Army Futures Command.

1st Armored Division

The 1st Armored Division units include: 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division ("Ready First") is prepared to deploy, conduct decisive and sustainable land operations in support of a division, Joint Task Force, or Multinational Force. The Brigade will be trained and ready to conduct decisive action as part of Combined Arms Maneuver or Wide Area Security operations in order to disrupt or destroy enemy military forces, control land, and be prepared to conduct combat operations to protect U.S. national interests.

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division ("Strike") is prepared to deploy, conduct decisive and sustainable land operations in support of a division, Joint Task Force, or Multinational Force. The Brigade will be trained and ready to conduct decisive action as part of Combined Arms Maneuver or Wide Area Security operations in order to disrupt or destroy enemy military forces, control land, and be prepared to conduct combat operations to protect U.S. national interests.

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division ("Bulldog") is prepared to deploy, conduct decisive and sustainable land operations in support of a division, Joint Task Force, or Multinational Force. The Brigade will be trained and ready to conduct decisive action as part of Combined Arms Maneuver or Wide Area Security operations in order to disrupt or destroy enemy military forces, control land, and be prepared to conduct combat operations to protect U.S. national interests.

1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade ("Iron Eagles") conducts aviation operations to support geographic combatant commanders conducting unified land operations.

1st Armored Division (1AD) Artillery (DIVARTY) ("Iron Steel") provides direct support, precision strike, and Joint Fires capability to the 1st Armored Division for Unified Land Operations in support of the Division's contingency operations. 1AD DIVARTY provides trained and ready fire support forces and assists Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Commanders in training their fire support systems.

1st Armored Division Sustainment ("Muleskinners") provides mission command of assigned, attached, and Operational Control (OPCON) Echelons above Brigade sustainment units and synchronize distribution and sustainment operations in support of 1st Armored Division, and other aligned units. On order, rapidly deploy to designated contingency areas; receive, integrate, and provide mission command of sustainment units providing operational and tactical sustainment; and perform theater opening, theater distribution, and sustainment operations in support of Unified Land Operations.

Additional units/agencies

The Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Leadership Center of Excellence (NCOL CoE): Academic institution for noncommissioned officers aligned under Army University and the Combined Arms Command, with additional reporting to Training and Doctrine Command. Provides professional military education to DoD and allied noncommissioned officers.

The United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA) was accredited as a branch campus of the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) in 2018. In March 2018, the CGSC Combined Arms Center Execution Order, made USASMA the 4th campus of CGSC. In June 2019, USASMA Class 69 became the first students from the Sergeants Major Course to earn Bachelors of Arts in Leadership and Workforce Development (Staff College) through USASMA. The accreditation process took 10 years, beginning with the last officer commandant, Col. Donald E. Gentry.

The 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade: Known as the "Imperial" Brigade, it strategically deploys combat ready units globally in support of the 32nd AAMDC to conduct joint and combined air and missile defense operations in order to protect the Combatant Commander's critical priorities. On order, conducts reset and training of Patriot, Avenger Iron Dome, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) units.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC)

The 5th Armored Brigade: The brigade plans, coordinates, synchronizes, and supports the pre/post mobilization training and demobilization of Army National Guard and United States Army Reserve units in order to provide trained and ready forces for worldwide contingencies. On order, deploys exportable OC/T teams in support of the Army Total Force Policy.

The Fort Bliss Mobilization Brigade: The brigade provides all administrative and logistical aspects of Title 10 support to mobilizing/demobilizing units. Act as focal point for installation support and quality of life issues. Coordinate requirements and integrate mobilization support. Provides personnel and logistical readiness validation input.

The CONUS Replacement Center: CRC receives, processes, equips, and conducts Theater Specific Individual Requirements Training (TSIRT) for military Non Unit Related Personnel (NRP), Department of Defense (DoD) Civilians, and Non Logistics Civil Augmentation (LOGCAP) Program (Non LOGCAP) Contactors deploying to and redeploying from theaters of operations in support of overseas contingency operations.

Infrastructure

DoD's second largest installation at 1.12M acres. Abuts the largest, White Sands Missile Range

Maneuver acreage, heavy and light: 924,640.2 acres

The only Digital Air Ground Integration Range (DAGIR) built to full Army specifications

The longest runway in the Army, 8th longest in the DoD

A major trauma center. plus the new William Beaumont Army Medical Center

One of the largest single solar residential communities in the continental US, at 4K+ homes, with potential to expand

Total building gross square footage (GSF), minus housing: 24,499,406 square feet, with 2,139 buildings

History

Early locations

In 1846, Colonel Alexander Doniphan led 1st Regiment of Missouri mounted volunteers through El Paso del Norte, with victories at the Battle of El Brazito and the Battle of the Sacramento. On 7 November 1848, War Department General Order no. 58 ordered the establishment of a post across from El Paso del Norte, now Ciudad Juárez. On 8 September 1849, the garrison party of several companies of the 3rd U.S. Infantry, 'The Old Guard', currently the oldest active duty regiment in the US Army, commanded by Major Jefferson Van Horne, found only four small and scattered settlements on the north side of the Rio Grande.

The Post Opposite El Paso del Norte was first established at the site of Coon's Ranch, often erroneously referred to as Smith's Ranch, now downtown El Paso It, along with Fort Selden and other Southwestern outposts, protected recently won territory from harassing Apaches and Comanches, provided local law and order, and escorted the forty-niners. Van Horne also had nominal command of the Post at San Elizario, the former Presidio of San Elizario, seventeen miles downstream from El Paso del Norte. With constant Indian raids, garrisons had to be moved frequently to meet the shifting threats. In September 1851, the Post Opposite El Paso and the Post at San Elizario were closed, and the soldiers were moved 40 miles (64 km) north to Fort Fillmore.

On 11 January 1854, Companies B, E, I and K of the 8th Infantry, under the command of Lt. Col. Edmund B. Alexander, established Post of El Paso at Magoffinsville under orders from Secretary of War Jefferson Davis. The post was named 'Fort Bliss' on 8 March 1854, in honor of Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, (1815–1853), U.S. Army officer, private secretary, and son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor. Bliss was a veteran of the Mexican War (1846–1848) who was cited for gallantry in action.

Fort Bliss remained there for the next 14 years, serving as a base for troops guarding the area against Apache attacks. Until 1861 most of these troops were units of the 8th Infantry Regiment. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, David E. Twiggs, the Commander of the Department of Texas, ordered the garrison to surrender Fort Bliss to the Confederacy, which Col. Isaac Van Duzen Reeve did on 31 March 1861. Companies B, E, F, H, I, and K were captured by the Confederacy and remained prisoners of war until 25 February 1863 in Texas. Company A returned safely to the North with their Colors on 26 May 1861.

Pershing expedition

In January 1914, John J. Pershing arrived in El Paso to take command of the Army 8th Brigade that was stationed at Fort Bliss. At the time, the Mexican Revolution was underway in Mexico, and the 8th Brigade had been assigned the task of securing the Mexico–United States border. In March 1915, under the command of General Frederick Funston, Pershing led the 8th Brigade on the failed 1916–1917 Punitive Expedition into Mexico in search of outlaw Pancho Villa.

On 11 March 2016, members of the 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, (3rd BCT, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss) conducted a staff ride at Pancho Villa State Park, NM, the former site of Camp Furlong, 2nd Squadron's billet in 1915. They reviewed the terrain of the 9 March 1916 raid by Pancho Villa's forces on the unit 100 years before. The 2nd Squadron then participated in a parade with reenactors, and Roll Call of the fallen.

During this time, the military airfield in El Paso became one of the homes to the United States Army Border Air Patrol and the 1st Aero Squadron, the U.S. Army's first tactical unit equipped with airplanes.

World War I and postwar

As American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commander (1917–1918), John J. Pershing transferred to Fort Bliss and was responsible for the organization, training, and supply of an inexperienced force that eventually grew from 27,000 men to over 2,000,000—the National Army of World War I.

From 10 December 1917 – 12 May 1918, the wartime 15th Cavalry Division existed at Fort Bliss. Similarly, the Headquarters, 2nd Cavalry Brigade was initially activated at Fort Bliss on 10 December 1917 and then deactivated in July 1919, and reactivated at Fort Bliss on 31 August 1920. Predominantly a cavalry post since 1912, Fort Bliss acquired three light armored cars, eight medium armored cars, two motorcycles, and two trucks in November 1928.

World War II and postwar

During World War II, Fort Bliss focused on training anti-aircraft artillery battalions (AAA). In September 1940, the Coast Artillery's anti-aircraft training center was established. In 1941, the 1st Tow Target Squadron arrived to fly target drones. The 6th, 19th, and 27th Tow Target Squadrons were at the nearby Biggs Field. On 3 August 1944, the Anti-Aircraft Artillery School was ordered from Camp Davis to Fort Bliss to make the training of anti-aircraft gunners easier, and they became the dominant force at Fort Bliss following the departure of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division. On 15 September 1942, the War Dept. made space available for handling up to 1,350 POWs, while POW camps could be constructed. During the war, the base was used to hold approximately 91 German, Italian, and Japanese Americans from Hawaii (then a territory), who were arrested as potential fifth columnists but, in most cases, denied due process.

By February 1946, over 100 Operation Paperclip German scientists and engineers had arrived to develop rockets, and were attached to the Office of the Chief of Ordnance Corps, Research and Development Service, Suboffice (Rocket), headed by Major James P. Hamill. Although these men were initially "pretty much kept on ice", resulting in the nickname "Operation Icebox", they were divided into a research group and a group who assisted with V-2 test launches at White Sands Proving Grounds.

German families began arriving in December 1946. By the spring of 1948, the number of German rocket specialists, nicknamed "Prisoners of Peace", in the US was 127. Fort Bliss rocket launches included firings of the Private missile at the Hueco Range in April 1945. In 1953, funding cuts caused the cancellation of work on the Hermes B2 ramjet work that had begun at Fort Bliss.

In late 1953, after troops had been trained at the Ft Bliss Guided Missile School, field-firing operations of the MGM-5 Corporal were underway at Red Canyon Range Camp, WSPG. In April 1950, the 1st Guided Missile Group named the Republic-Ford JB-2 the Army Loon.

Cold War

Fort Bliss trained thousands of U.S. Soldiers during the Cold War. As the United States gradually came to master the art of building and operating missiles, Fort Bliss and White Sands Missile Range became more important to the country, and were expanded accordingly. In July 1957, the U.S. Army Air Defense Center was established at Fort Bliss. Located at this center, in addition to Center Headquarters, are the U.S. Army Air Defense School; Air Defense; the 6th Artillery Group (Air Defense); the 61st Ordnance Group; and other supporting elements. In 1957, Fort Bliss and its anti-aircraft personnel began using Nike Ajax, Nike Hercules, Hawk, Sprint, Chaparral, and Redeye missiles. Fort Bliss took on the important role of providing a large area for troops to conduct live fire exercises with the missiles.

Because of the large number of Army personnel enrolled in the air defense school, Fort Bliss saw two large rounds of construction in 1954 and 1958. The 1954 build was aimed at creating more barracks facilities. Construction in 1958 built new classrooms, materials labs, a radar park, and a missile laboratory. Between 1953 and 1957, the Army expanded McGregor Range in an effort to accommodate live fire exercises of the new missile systems. Throughout the Cold War, Fort Bliss remained a premier site for testing anti-aircraft equipment.

Fort Bliss was used as the Desert Stage of the Ranger School training course, to prepare Ranger School graduates for operations in the deserts of the Middle East. From 1983 to 1987, Fort Bliss was home to the Ranger School's newly formed 4th (Desert Ranger) Training Company. In 1987, this unit was expanded to form the newly created Ranger Training Brigade's short-lived 7th Ranger Training Battalion, which was then transferred to the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. The deserts of Utah proved to be unsuitable, so the 7th Ranger Training Battalion was returned to Fort Bliss from 1991 until the Ranger School's Desert Phase was discontinued in 1995.

While the United States Army Air Defense Artillery School develops doctrine and tactics, training current and future soldiers has always been Fort Bliss' core mission. Until 1990, Fort Bliss was used for Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training (AIT), under the 1/56 ADA Regiment and the 2/56 ADA Regiment, part of the 6th ADA. Before 1989, 1/56 had three basic training companies and two AIT batteries. After 1990, 1/56 dropped basic training, that mission assumed by Fort Sill. The unit now had four enlisted batteries for enlisted AIT, one battery for the Officer's Basic Course and Captain's Career Course, added in 2004, and one company that trained army truck drivers in MOS 88M.

Base realignment and closure

In 1995, the Department of Defense recommended that the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment be relocated to Fort Carson, Colorado. Efforts to consolidate units from another post with those units that remained at Fort Bliss were overruled by the Base Realignment and Closing Commission, leaving Fort Bliss without any armored vehicles. Units operating the US Army's MIM-104 Patriot Missile Defense System relocated to Fort Bliss during the 1990s. The Patriot system played an important role in the Persian Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm in 1991. In commemoration, the US 54 expressway in northeast El Paso was designated the Patriot Freeway.

War on terror

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Fort Bliss provided ADA Battalions for US and NATO use in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has served as one of the major deployment centers for troops bound for Iraq and Afghanistan. This mission is accomplished via nearby Biggs Army Airfield, which is included in the installation's supporting areas. Following the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) in 2001 Fort Bliss began training Afghan security forces at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy at Fort Bliss, with the hope that these newly trained soldiers would eventually be able to take control of their own national security.

Base Realignment and Closure, 2005

In 2005, the Pentagon recommended transforming Fort Bliss into a heavy armor training post, to include approximately 11,500 new troops from the U.S. 1st Armored Division – at that time stationed in Germany – as well as units from Fort Sill and Fort Hood. An estimated 15,918 military jobs and 384 civilian jobs were planned to be transferred to Fort Bliss, brought the total number of troops stationed at Fort Bliss under this alignment to 33,500 by 2012. Officials from Fort Bliss and the City of El Paso were thrilled with the decision. The general mood of the city government was perfectly captured by 14 May edition of the El Paso Times, which boldly proclaimed "BLISS WINS BIG".

According to Senator Eliot Shapleigh, the BRAC commission considered three primary factors to make its decision: The military value of Fort Bliss, the potential for other branches of the armed service to use a post as large as Fort Bliss, and the lack of urban encroachment around Fort Bliss that would otherwise hinder its growth. The arrival of the 11,500 troops from the 1st Armored Division was also expected to create some 20,196 direct and indirect military and civilian jobs in El Paso.

According to the Department of Defense, this is the largest net gain in the United States tied to the Base Realignment and Closure recommendations. Of the 20,196 new jobs expected to come to El Paso as a result of Bliss's realignment, 9,000 would be indirect civilian jobs created by the influx of soldiers to the "Sun City". When the BRAC commission recommendations were released Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's spokesman reported that El Paso was the only area that came out with a major gain of forces.

The news that El Paso had been selected to receive major elements of the 1st Armored Division was met with joy, but at the same time many expressed surprise at the panel's recommendation to transfer the Air Defense Artillery School, 6th ADA Brigade, and its accompanying equipment, including the MIM-104 Patriot Missile Anti-Aircraft/Anti Missile defense system, to Fort Sill. In August, officials representing Fort Bliss went before the BRAC Commission to plead their case for maintaining the ADA school and its accompanying 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 ultimately ruled against Fort Bliss, and the roughly 4,500 affected soldiers were transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The entire transfer of soldiers to and from Fort Bliss was completed no later than September 2011.

2009–present

A 2010 joint study by Fort Bliss and El Paso-area city governments found that desalination was a viable method for increasing El Paso's water supply by 25%. The Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant, on Montana Avenue, is located on Fort Bliss property, and desalinates the groundwater of the Hueco Bolson for use by El Paso and Fort Bliss. This reverse-osmosis plant protects the fresh groundwater supplies from invasion by more brackish water. This plant is currently the largest non-seawater desalination plant in the world.

In 2010, with the assumption of command by Major General Dana J.H. Pittard, a local that grew up in El Paso, Fort Bliss was made an "open post" which allowed anyone with a valid driver's license to enter the post. From 2015, Fort Bliss was no longer an open post. In 2020, 1st Armored Division's Operations Research and Systems Analysis officer (ORSA) created a COVID-19 progression rate model for the division. This model was used by the COVID-19 task force for the City of El Paso.

In July 2010, electric power consumption at Fort Bliss had been reduced by three megawatts as the base continued to work towards becoming a "net zero" energy installation. In 2011 the 1st Armored Division moved from Baumholder, Germany to Fort Bliss, prompting significant expansion at the base in order to accommodate the relocated. In April 2013, Major General Dana J.H. Pittard announced a $120 million project to be completed by 2015, consisting of the largest solar farm within the U.S. military.

In June 2013, an investigation into above-ground dirt-covered bunkers located on the military reservation was opened. These former nuclear weapons bunkers were used by the Air Force during the Cold War, when Biggs Air Force Base was a SAC base. Low level radiation was detected in Bunker 11507. The bunker interiors were previously painted with epoxy paint to contain the radiation, and the paint has now chipped. The radiation contamination is confined to the area around the bunker. The area was closed in July 2013.

Camp East Montana

On 17 August 2025, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility opened in Fort Bliss. The facility is called Camp East Montana and has a capacity of 1,000—and eventually 5,000—detainees. During its first 50 days, conditions at the camp violated at least 60 federal standards, according to ICE's own detention oversight unit. The ACLU and other human-rights organizations called for its closure after interviewed detainees reported "physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect, and intimidation to self-deport".

Description

Among Fort Bliss's missions:

Home of America's Tank Division, 1st AD (One of 10 active divisions in the Army)

Largest Joint Mobilization Force Generation Installation (JMFGI) in DoD (FY19: over 72K): 49K MOB/DeMOB/CRC; 23K Pre Mobilization Exercise Training (PMET)

One of the largest Power Projection Platforms in the Army

Home to the Army's ONLY CONUS Replacement Center (CRC)

Interagency operations: El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), Joint Task Force North (JTF-N), Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

Joint Modernization Command (JMC)(Futures Command) conducts Joint Warfighter Assessments/Enhance Multi-Domain C2/Informs Army Modernization

Ability to fire any weapon (pistol to missile)

Provide anti-aircraft and missile defense capabilities.

Conduct live fire exercises of nearly every type of Army weapon.

Host joint military exercises with other U.S. and foreign units,

Be home to many maintenance crews and supply units.

Be one of the Army's premier bases for test-driving tanks and other equipment.

House thousands of military vehicles, including all the equipment needed to set up Patriot missile sites.

Local impact

In 2023, it was estimated that Fort Bliss employed 126,997 individuals and contributed at least 27.9 billion dollars to the Texas economy. Many store owners in El Paso rely on soldiers and army personnel to support their businesses.

Fort Bliss has assisted El Paso during local disasters. In 1897, and in 1925, the fort provided food and housing to those displaced by flood waters. In 2006, Fort Bliss dispatched soldiers and helicopters to the flood-affected areas to help with rescue efforts there.

Geography

The Fort Bliss census-designated place is located at 31°48′07″N 106°25′29″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the census-designated place has an area of 6.2 square miles (16.0 km2), all of it land. In terms of its United States physiographic region, it is a southern part of the Basin and Range Province.

Demographics

Fort Bliss first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 United States census, and as a census-designated place in the 1980 United States census.

In the 2020 census there were 11,260 people and 2,282 households living on the post. The population density was 628.3 inhabitants per square mile (242.6/km2). The racial makeup of the post was 58.2% White, 16.5% African American, 2.4% Asian, 1.4% Native American, 0.5% Pacific Islander, and 15.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.5% of the population.

Of the persons living there 12.4% were under the age of 5, 33.8% were under the age of 18 and 0.1% were over the age of 65. The female percentage was 38.2%. The average household size was 3.82.

The median income for a household on the post was $57,283. The per capita income for the post was $22,181. About 13.1% of the population were below the poverty line.

Education

Fort Bliss is located within the boundaries of the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD). Public schools serving military families residing on the installation are operated by EPISD under agreements involving federally owned property on the post.

Bliss Elementary School is located on the main post and serves family housing areas on the installation, while Milam Elementary School serves residents of the Aero Vista development. Students residing in these areas are zoned to Navarrete Middle School and Captain John L. Chapin High School, or Hartley School and Austin High School, respectively.

The Bundeswehr maintains a school for German national children at Fort Bliss. The 1–12 school was established circa 1976, and in 2016 had 55 students.

Museums and historic preservation

The Replica Museum is located next to the Noel Parade Field and depicts the Post at the Magoffinsville site. This five building museum was authentically constructed with adobe bricks and painted stucco, and includes a sutler store, bunkhouse, blacksmith shop, saddlery, and a pottery kiln. The museum depicts the story of Fort Bliss and El Paso from 1848 to 1948 and was dedicated on the 100th anniversary.

The Fort Bliss and Ironsides Museums are located next to the Athletic Field and includes outdoor and indoor exhibits. These include important historical artifacts from the founding of Fort Bliss to the present day, such as General Pershing's Dodge Command Car and a Patriot Missile.

The Fort Bliss Main Post Historic District, a large historic district including 343 buildings deemed to be contributing, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.