Peterson Air Force Base
| Peterson Air Force Base | |
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Part of  Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) |
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| eponym: 1st Lt Edward J. Peterson location: El Paso County, Colorado nearest city: Colorado Springs, Colorado |
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Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) headquarters moved to Peterson AFB Building 1 in December 1987 from the Chidlaw Building, and the facility was renamed the Hartinger Building in April 2003 NORAD moved to building 2 (out of picture, at bottom) in January 1988 (renamed the Eberhart-Findley Building in 2012).
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| Coordinates | 38°49′25″N 104°41′42″W / 38.82361°N 104.69500°W |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 United States Air Force
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| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| In use | 1942–present |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison |
 21st Space Wing
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 Peterson.AF.mil gallery
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JFK's Air Force One at Peterson during 1963 Chidlaw Building/Cheyenne Mountain visit |
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MAFFS aircraft at PAFB
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Peterson Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, also having the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters. Developed as a World War II air support base for Camp Carson, the facility conducted Army Air Forces training and supported Cold War air defense centers at the nearby Ent Air Force Base, Chidlaw Building, and Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The base has been the location of the Air Force Space Command headquarters since 1987 and has had NORAD/NORTHCOM command center operations since the 2006 Cheyenne Mountain Realignment placed the nearby Cheyenne Mountain Complex centers on standby.
Peterson AFB has flight operations by the 302d Airlift Wing. Current units at the base are:
The base's Retiree Activities Office has the representative for the Air Force Retiree Council Area IV (Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming).
Colorado military construction during the buildup of US training installations prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor included the 1940 Lowry bombardier school at Denver and Camp Carson south of Colorado Springs (HQ completed January 31, 1942). Sites "in the vicinity of Colorado Springs" were assessed in the summer of 1941 for a USAAF airfield, and during April 1942 the Photographic Reconnaissance Operational Training Unit (PROTU) was activated in a leased facility at Colorado Springs. On May 6, 1942, the site adjacent to the airfield of the 1926 Colorado Springs Municipal Airport was selected, and the airport's airfield was subsequently leased as an "air support field"* for Camp Carson under the "air support base development program". In May 1942, units such as the 5th Mapping Squadron (from Bradley Field) arrived and used city facilities. The "Second Photographic Group Reconnaissance" (activated 7 May 1942 at Will Rogers Field) transferred to Colorado Springs, and the "2nd Group ... headquarters was situated in a former garage across the street from the Post Office, barracks were in the city auditorium...and the mess hall was located at the busy horseshoe counter of the Sante Fe R.R. station." Land at the Broadmoor was used for maneuvers, and the 2nd Group initially operated without aircraft. Personnel were also "housed temporarily at Colorado College" and a youth camp near the Woodmen sanitorium. (the 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron was located at the Kaufman Building on Tejon St.)
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