Since being established in 1942, Fort Carson has grown to an approximate military population of over 18,000 troops covering over 137,000 acres of land south of Colorado Springs. The sole mission of Fort Carson is combat readiness. The post employs many civilians and has excellent interaction with the community by providing helicopter rescue squads, bomb disposal units, and many other free community assistance programs. During World War II, Fort Carson housed prisoners of war and has since been the site for production of several movies.

A fighter training post and civilian airport before and during WWII, Peterson Air Force Base was known as "Pete Field." Today it is headquarters for the 46th Aerospace Defense Wing and the support facility for the North American Air Force Defense Command (NORAD) and Space Command. Located east of the city, Peterson adjoins the city's municipal airport.

NORAD is a joint facility staffed by all branches of the military. Established in the 1950's to coordinate interception of unidentified aircraft by our combat forces, NORAD is located inside Cheyenne Mountain, southwest of Colorado Springs. NORAD provides early warning for North America and vital space tracking functions.

The combination of a top rated university with military training, the academy was established to be the training ground for future Air Force officers. Out of 13,000 applicants each year, only 1,500 freshmen are accepted. The beautiful grounds of this facility are known as a major tourist attraction for the city of Colorado Springs. It is situated on 18,000 acres of wooded, picturesque land north of the city. The Air Force Academy employs over 6,000 personnel, approximately 2,000 of which are civilians.

640 acres made up of former ranch land east of Colorado Springs, Schriever Air Force Base houses the Consolidated Space Operations Center (CSOC) and provides military satellite control operations. Other operations conducted at Schriever include the Global Positioning System, MILSTAR Satellite control, and the Defense Satellite Communications System.

Selected aerospace and defense firms with defense contract support work originating with the Space Command or space related research and development:

• Boeing North American Mitre Corporation
• Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc. National Systems & Research
• General Electric Aerospace PRC Incorporated
• Harris Corporation Science Applications Int'l
• ITT Federal Services Corporation Titan Corporation
• Litton Data Systems TRW Space & Defense
• Lockheed Martin Corporation Vanguard Research Inc.

---

---