Editing Offutt Air Force Base (section)

===Fort Crook===
Offutt's history began with the commissioning by the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] in 1890 of Fort Crook. Located some 10 miles south of Omaha and two miles west of the [[Missouri River]], the fort was constructed between 1894 and 1896. The fort's namesake was [[Major General]] [[George Crook]],<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Govt. Print. Off. |author=Gannett, Henry |year=1905 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n128 129]}}</ref> a veteran of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] and [[American Indian Wars|Indian Wars]].

It was first used as a dispatch point for [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] conflicts on the [[Great Plains]]. Troops from Fort Crook fought during the [[Spanish–American War]] when the 22nd Regiment under [[Charles A. Wikoff]] was dispatched to Cuba. The regiment suffered heavy casualties in the [[Battle of El Caney]]. Only 165 of the 513 regiment members survived with most succumbing to [[tropical disease]]s after the battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmitsburg.net/archive_list/articles/history/spanish_american_war/elmore_nelson.htm |title=Corporal Elmore Nelson |publisher=Emmitsburg Area Historical Society |access-date=11 January 2007}}</ref>

The oldest surviving portion of Fort Crook is the [[parade (military)|parade grounds]] and surrounding red brick buildings that were constructed between 1894 and 1896. These structures are still in active use today as squadron headquarters, living quarters for high-ranking generals (Generals’ Row), and Nebraska's oldest operational jail.