Fort Bliss, Texas

Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor, Ft. Bliss has an area of about ; it is the largest installation in FORSCOM (United States Army Forces Command) and second-largest in the Army overall (the largest being the adjacent White Sands Missile Range). The portion of the post located in El Paso County, Texas, is a census-designated place with a population of 8,591 as of the time of the 2010 census. Fort Bliss provides the largest contiguous tract () of restricted airspace in the Continental United States, used for missile and artillery training and testing, and at 992,000 acres boasts the largest maneuver area (ahead of the National Training Center, which has 642,000 acres). The garrison's land area is accounted at 1.12 million acres, ranging to the boundaries of the Lincoln National Forest and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Units

Fort Bliss is home to the 1st Armored Division, which returned to US soil in 2011 after 40 years in Germany.Jean Han (11 May 2020) 1st Armored Division Marks Ninth Anniversary at Fort Bliss
/ref> The division is supported by the 1st Armored Division Sustainment Brigade. The installation is also home to Joint Task Force North (JTF), 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 (USNORTHCOM) area of responsibility, to disrupt transnational criminal organizations and deter their freedom of action in order to protect the homeland and increase DoD unit readiness. The 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command (AAMDC) is a theater level Army air and missile defense multi component organization with a worldwide, 72 hour deployment mission. It is the Army Forces Command and Joint Force Land Component Commanders' (ARFOR / JFLCC) 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 inform Army Modernization decisions. On order, JMC conducts directed assessments in support of the Cross Functional Teams of Army Futures Command.

1st Armored Division

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 IOT 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 IOT 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 IOT 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 Artillery ("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 BCT Commanders in training their fire support systems.

1st Armored Division Sustainment ("Muleskinners") provides mission command of assigned, attached, and 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 NCO Leadership Center of Excellence ( NCOL CoE): Acknowledged as the world's premiere accredited 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 to
meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world while developing disciplined, fit, and well educated leaders

The United States Army Sergeants Major Academy ( USASMA) was accredited as a branch campus of the Command and General Staff College ( CGSC) in 2018. Danielle O’Donnell (NCOL COE) Higher learning: USASMA now a staff college branch, first students to receive BAs to graduate Friday
/ref> CGSC Combined Arms Center Execution Order, dated 21 March 2018, made USASMA the 4th campus of CGSC. On 21 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. O/O, conducts reset and training of Patriot, Avenger Iron Dome, and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) units.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC): WBAMC delivers quality healthcare to Soldiers and beneficiaries at Fort Bliss to sustain a Ready Force; every encounter, every day.

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 Program (Non LOGCAP) Contactors deploying to and redeploying from theaters of operations in support of overseas contingency operations.

The Army Field Support Battalion (AFSBn): AFSBn is a critical element in the transformation of Army logistics, providing a "single face to the field," to the Army's finest warfighters. Responsible for enhancing the readiness of Active, Reserve and National Guard units and continuously synchronizing the distribution of sustainment materiel and force projection at the Installation and field level in order to support the Materiel Enterprise and combat readiness of supported units and contingency operations.

The Network Enterprise Command: This unit defends the security of the Army Global Network Construct, provides transparent delivery of Command, Control, Communications and Computer (C4) Information Technology (IT services to customers).

The Civilian Personnel Advisory Center (CPAC) -- Desert Mountain: CPAC is responsible for assisting customers in recruiting, developing and sustaining a professional civilian workforce through effective, efficient, and responsive human resource products and advisory services.

The headquarters for the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC), a federal tactical operational intelligence center, is hosted at Fort Bliss. Its DoD (United States Department of Defense) counterpart, Joint Task Force North, is at Biggs Army Airfield. Biggs Field, a military airport located at Fort Bliss, is designated a military power projection platform.

Fort Bliss National Cemetery is located on the post. Other forts in the frontier fort system were Forts Griffin, Concho, Belknap, Chadbourne, Stockton, Davis, Richardson, McKavett, Clark, McIntosh, Inge, and Phantom Hill in Texas, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma. There were "sub posts or intermediate stations" including Bothwick's Station on Salt Creek between Fort Richardson and Fort Belknap, Camp Wichita near Buffalo Springs between Fort Richardson and Red River Station, and Mountain Pass between Fort Concho and Fort Griffin.

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
* Only Digital Air Ground Integration Range (DAGIR) built to full Army specifications
* Longest runway in the Army, 8th in DoD
* Major trauma center (plus the new WBAMC)
* One of the largest single solar residential community in the continental US (4K+ homes) with potential to expand
* Total building gross square footage (GSF) (less housing): 24,499,406 SF; 2,139 total buildings

History

Early locations

Post opposite El Paso del Norte (1849–1854)

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. Then on 7 November 1848, War Department General Order no. 58 ordered the establishment of a post NOTE: At the time of its creation, the first post occupied territory that was considered to be part of New Mexico, and the post remained the strongest military encampment in New Mexico until the 32nd parallel north was designated the official boundary between New Mexico and Texas in 1850. 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) and, along with Fort Selden and other Southwestern outposts, protected recently won territory from harassing Apaches and Comanches, provided 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, the soldiers moved north to Fort Fillmore.

Post of El Paso (1854), Fort Bliss, (1854–1868)

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, a veteran of the Mexican War (1846-1848) who was cited for gallantry in action.

There it remained 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 Feb 1863 in Texas, with Company A returning safely to the North with their Colors on 26 May 1861.)Lt. Richard H Wilson, Adjutant, The Eighth Regiment of Infantry.
/ref> Confederate forces consisting of the 2nd Regiment of Texas, under the command of Col. John R. Baylor

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