Fort Carson | |
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El Paso / Pueblo / Fremont counties, outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado | |
Shoulder sleeve insignia of units stationed at Fort Carson
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Type | Army post |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States |
Site history | |
Built | January 31, 1942 |
In use | 1942–present |
Garrison information | |
Garrison |
4th Infantry Division 10th Special Forces Group |
Fort Carson is a United States Army installation located in El Paso County, Colorado, near the city of Colorado Springs.
The 137,000-acre (550 km2) installation extends southward into Pueblo and Fremont counties. That part of the installation located within El Paso County forms a census-designated place (CDP) which had a population of 13,815 in the 2010 census.
Fort Carson is the home of the 4th Infantry Division, the 10th Special Forces Group, the 440th Civil Affairs Battalion (USAR), the 71st Ordnance Group (EOD), the 4th Engineer Battalion, the 759th Military Police Battalion, the 10th Combat Support Hospital, the 43rd Sustainment Brigade, the Army Field Support Battalion-Fort Carson, the 423rd Transportation Company (USAR) and the 13th Air Support Operations Squadron of the United States Air Force. The post also hosts units of the Army Reserve, Navy Reserve and the Colorado Army National Guard. Ft. Carson was also home to the 5th Infantry Div. Known as the Red Devils. Camp Carson was established in 1942, following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The city of Colorado Springs, Colorado purchased land south of the city and donated it to the War Department. Construction began immediately and the first building, the camp headquarters, was completed January 31, 1942. Camp Carson was named in honor of the legendary Army scout, General Christopher "Kit" Carson, who explored much of the West in the 1800s.