1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss Museum

Fort Bliss is a U.S. Army base located in the far west of Texas, near the Mexican border. Named after Lieutenant Colonel William Wallace Smith Bliss, the base is part of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). It covers approximately 4,500 km of terrain that extends over Texas and New Mexico, a size comparable to Rhode Island.

Training Areas of Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss also includes the McGregor Range and Doña Ana Range training areas in New Mexico. It is the largest installation of TRADOC, the second largest U.S. Army base after the White Sands launch center, which is adjacent to Fort Bliss, and the largest American maneuver field, three times larger than the National Training Center.

Historical Background of Fort Bliss

The history and the first establishment of the American army at Fort Bliss date back to the mid-19th century and the creation of a first fort, used mainly in the Indian wars. At the end of World War II, the development of ballistic missiles was a source of dispute among the various components of the U.S. armed forces. It was finally the Army, which the base depends on, that was finally charged with the development of these missiles.