The 460th Air Base Wing begins the 21st century with the groundwork in-place for a dynamic future. The wing continues a proud history established in combat over Europe. The story of the 460th history started again and continued proudly throughout the Vietnam War. The history of the 460th continued anew along the Cold War front in Korea. Every time the 460th activated it has come during a period of American conflict; again the wing stands ready and willing to accept this calling. From the moment the 460th Air Base Wing activated in the fall of 2001, the men and women of Buckley stood ready to meet the unknown challenges of the future, both at home and abroad.
Flying the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, the 460th Bombardment Group Heavy, participated in almost every major theater of combat in the skies over Europe. Formed in the spring of 1943, the group trained in New Mexico, Utah and Virginia before being shipped overseas in the winter of 1944. The group assumed their post at Spinnazolla, Italy in the winter of 1944. The group was declared operational and began combat operations in March of 1944. From this base they operated from the "heel of the boot" to the far northern reaches of the Third Reich. The efforts of the group spanned the scoped of operations over Europe, they earned campaign streamers for operations over Rome, southern France, Normandy, and the Rhineland in Germany. The varied missions they flew evidence the groups' agility. They bombed enemy industry, military storage facilities, interdiction and support missions. The group flew its last combat mission in the spring of 1945. The group then moved to Trinidad on then to Brazil to assist redeploying troops back home after the war ended. The 460th Bombardment Group was inactivated 26 September 1945.
As conflict reared itself again in the mid-1960s, the 460th was activated a second time as the 460th Reconnaissance Wing in mid-winter 1966. Stationed outside Saigon at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, the recon-wing operated throughout Vietnam from 1966 until 1971. This version of the 460th performed day and visual, photographic, radar, thermographic, and electronic reconnaissance mission. With three flying squadrons, a reconnaissance task force, and several support squadrons, made this wing the largest and most varied in the Vietnam war zone. Additionally, the seven different aircraft flown by the wing made it the most diversified. Pilots drove the Martin RB-57 Night Prowler, the Douglas EB/RB 66 Destroyer, the McDonnell Douglas RF-4 Phantom, the McDonnell RF-101 Voodoo, Douglas RC/EC-47 aircrafts. During the campaign the wing earned four Presidential Unit Citations and two outstanding unit awards. The wing deactivated on 31 Aug 1971.
In the fall of 1989, the renamed 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Group activated in the Pacific. Located on the Korean peninsula, the 460th took up the reconnaissance of North Korea on 1 October 1989. Flying the RF-4, the group performed admirably during this short duration. Awarded the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award for its' service in Korea, the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Group inactivated one year later on 1 October 1990.
A growing space mission in the Denver area and the support of additional missions and personnel for various military functions necessitated the need for a major change in the local military community. Although Lowry Air Force Base got caught in the military base closures of the early 1990s, the many missions that remained in the area began to slowly grow larger and larger. Each of these organizations now began to require a broader network of support. Air Force Space Command leaders began a five year process that fully examined the needs of every organization and the avenues the Air Force could take to support those many missions. With personnel already providing the framework of support the first step for space command was to initiate a timetable for action. Existing active duty support units received first attention, realigned under the flag of the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, the 821st Space Group assumed the support mission in the Denver area.
As the various functions supported by the 821st grew unabated, it became evidently clear that either one of two actions needed to happen. First option, close all functions and have personnel supported at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs some 60 miles to the south. This option would prove faulty; to accomplish even minor day-to-day duties would sometimes require at least a half-day round trip to get them accomplished. The second option would dedicate existing services and add additional as they became necessary. This option, also the most controversial, set the course for an unprecedented future. Secretary of the Air Force, Whiten Peters and the Chief of Staff, General Robert Ryan transferred responsibilities of the base from the Colorado Air National Guard to Air Force Space Command. In a time of budget cutbacks and military downsizing, this action, in effect, laid the foundation for the activation of a new Air Force Base. Buckley Air Force Base activated on 1 October 2000 with the 21st Space Wing still in control.
With a mission that includes sites across the globe, the 21st Space Wing now became the supporter of 20 tenant units and missions and over 88,000 personnel. In effect, the addition of those missions and personnel drastically placed the abilities and performance of the 21st Space Wing at risk. The second change came into effect in the effort to adequately adjust the balance of the military mission. This change ensured that all missions could be successfully completed.
Selected on a basis of past history of aerial combat in World War II, the actions of the wing for five years during the Vietnam War and the service of the group in Korea. Additionally, the many accolades and awards the unit received, the Air Force brought to life and reactivated the 460th Air Base Wing on 1 October 2001. The 460th Air Base Wing now assumed full control of the support mission in the Denver area.
Already growing and transforming after the activation of Buckley Air Force Base, the 460th Air Base Wing looks forward to numerous construction projects that ensure a successful mission completion well into the future. Bearing a similarity to the constantly growing Denver-metro area, the building of state-of-the-art facilities, gymnasiums, shopping centers, and on base homes places quality of life initiatives at the forefront for personnel now assigned to the wing and to those who will follow.
Main
phone numbers: Commercial (303)677-9011 or
DSN 877-9011
Mailing
address: Buckley AFB, CO 80011
Population:
1,445 active duty; 1,409 reservists; 2,060 family
members; 109 civilians
Housing: No
family housing on base; 100 leased family housing units
off-base; 236 dormitory spaces for unaccompanied service
members (303)677-6187
Temporary
lodging: None.
Family
Support Center: (303)677-6681
Schools: None
on base.
Child
Care: Center for 230, three-month wait
(303)677-6174
Health
care: Clinic. Appointments
(303)677-9355; Tricare (303)367-3360; also see Fort
Carson
Buckley AFB - Colorado
has a medium size commissary - (303)677-7100, and a medium
exchange (720)859-9628. Recreation at Buckley AFB - Colorado
includes golf, tennis, swimming, outdoor activities,
camping, and fishing.
