The U.S. Space Force took over command at the former Buckley Air Force Base in early June.
The Buckley Space Force Base assumed its new name in an official ceremony. The United States Space Force took control of the base on June 4, with Colonel Marcus D. Jackson in command.
Located in Aurora, Colorado, the station opened as Buckley Field in June of 1941. Nearly 80 years later, the U.S. Air Force station is changing branches. The Fourteenth Air Force, which operates out of Buckley, was redesignated as a Space Operations Command in December 2019, taking on a significant role with the Space Force.
Watch the official naming ceremony below:
A few months after the Pentagon announced Space Command operations, this was headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs. Since then, the official U.S. Space Force headquarters would be in Hunstville, Alabama at Redstone Arsenal.
Servicemen and women at Buckley serve in a variety of roles and responsibilities. The 460th Space Wing provides global infrared surveillance, missile tracking, and defense.
Military space force operations have been going on since 1982 with the establishment of the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). At this time, its main operations were missile tracking and defense, a necessary operation during the Cold War.
After the 9/11 attacks, the AFSPC was given more responsibility to provide space-based support to U.S. Central Command. Several years later, the AFSPC was given roles in cybersecurity. The AFSPC became the Air Combat Command in July 2018 to give the AFSPC the ability to focus on the space domain and becoming a global leader in space operations.
In December 2019, the AFSPC was redesignated as the U.S. Space Force, which allowed operations to become its own branch within the military.
What do you think of the new name? Let us know in the comments.