Editing Fort Bliss (section)

==History==

===Early locations===

====Post opposite El Paso del Norte (1849–1854)====
[[File:Fort Bliss ca. 1885.jpg|thumb|Fort Bliss in 1885. Photo courtesy of [[Southern Methodist University|SMU]].]]
[[File:Fort Bliss 1948 Issue-3c.jpg|thumb|180px|{{center|Fort Bliss [[U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps|100th Anniversary Issue]] of 1948}}]]

In 1846, [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[Alexander Doniphan]] led [[Mexican American War campaigns#Monterrey, 21 September 1846|1st Regiment of Missouri mounted volunteers]] through [[El Paso del Norte]], with victories at the [[Battle of El Brazito]] and the [[Battle of the Sacramento]]. On 7 November 1848, War Department General Order no. 58 ordered the establishment of a post<ref name=Metz>{{cite book |last=Metz |first=Leon Claire |author2=Tom Lea |author3=Jose Cisneros |year=1988 |title=Desert Army: Fort Bliss on the Texas Border |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASfJAAAACAAJ&q=Desert+Army:+Fort+Bliss+on+the+Texas+Border |edition=1st paperback |publisher=Mangan Books |location=El Paso, Texas |isbn=0-930208-36-6 |access-date=9 October 2008}} NOTE: At the time of its creation, the first post occupied territory that was considered to be part of [[New Mexico]], and the post remained the strongest military encampment in New Mexico until the [[32nd parallel north]] was designated the official boundary between New Mexico and Texas in 1850.</ref> across from [[Ciudad Juárez|El Paso del Norte, now Ciudad Juárez]].<ref name=LavenHistory>{{cite web |url=http://www.lavenpublishing.com/history1.html |title=History of Fort Bliss |access-date=14 December 2008 |work=Post Guide and Telephone Directory |publisher=Laven Publishing Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505161100/http://www.lavenpublishing.com/history1.html |archive-date=5 May 2009}}</ref> On 8 September 1849, the garrison party of several companies of the [[3rd United States Infantry Regiment (TOG)|3rd U.S. Infantry]], 'The Old Guard', currently the oldest active duty regiment in the US Army, commanded by [[Jefferson Van Horne|Major Jefferson Van Horne]], found only four small and scattered settlements on the north side of the [[Rio Grande]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|21}}

The ''Post Opposite El Paso del Norte'' was first established at the site of Coon's Ranch, often erroneously referred to as Smith's Ranch, now downtown [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]]<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|21}} It, along with [[Fort Selden]] and other Southwestern outposts, protected recently won territory from harassing [[Apache]]s and [[Comanche]]s, provided local law and order, and escorted the [[California Gold Rush#Forty-niners|forty-niners]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|17}} [[Jefferson Van Horne|Van Horne]] also had nominal command of the [[San Elizario, Texas|Post at San Elizario]], the former ''Presidio of San Elizario'', seventeen miles downstream from El Paso del Norte.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|9,17}} With constant Indian raids, garrisons had to be moved frequently to meet the shifting threats. In September 1851, the Post Opposite El Paso and the Post at San Elizario were closed, and the soldiers were moved {{convert|40|mi|km}} north to [[Fort Fillmore]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|20–21}}

==== Post of El Paso (1854), Fort Bliss, (1854–1868) ====
On 11 January 1854, Companies B, E, I and K of the [[8th Infantry Regiment (United States)|8th Infantry]], under the command of Lt. Col. [[Edmund B. Alexander]], established Post of El Paso at Magoffinsville under orders from [[Secretary of War]] [[Jefferson Davis]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|23}}<ref>Frank Mangan (1971), in ''El Paso in Pictures'', Texas A&M Press, {{ISBN|978-0-87565-350-1}} locates the Magoffinsville post at the intersection of Magoffin and Willow streets, based on photographic inspection of the contours of [[Franklin Mountains (Texas)|Mount Franklin]] in a photograph of Fort Bliss.</ref> The post was named 'Fort Bliss' on 8 March 1854, in honor of Lt. Col. [[William Wallace Smith Bliss]], a veteran of the Mexican War (1846–1848) who was cited for gallantry in action.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|23}}

Fort Bliss remained there for the next 14 years, serving as a base for troops guarding the area against Apache attacks. Until 1861 most of these troops were units of the 8th Infantry Regiment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bliss.army.mil/Museum/FortBlissTexas.htm |title=Information taken from the Fort Bliss Museum website |access-date=21 September 2006 |publisher=United States Army  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714142816/https://www.bliss.army.mil/Museum/FortBlissTexas.htm |archive-date=14 July 2007 }}</ref> At the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]], [[David E. Twiggs]], the Commander of the [[Department of Texas]], ordered the garrison to surrender Fort Bliss to [[Confederate States of America|the Confederacy]], which Col. [[Isaac Van Duzen Reeve]] did on 31 March 1861.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|29}} Companies B, E, F, H, I, and K were captured by the Confederacy and remained prisoners of war until 25 February 1863 in Texas. Company A returned safely to the North with their Colors on 26 May 1861.<ref name=wilson>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080620034855/http://www.history.army.mil/books/R&H/R&H-8IN.htm Lt. Richard H Wilson, Adjutant, The Eighth Regiment of Infantry.]</ref>

Confederate forces consisting of the 2nd Regiment of Texas, under the command of Col. [[John R. Baylor]], took the post on 1 July 1861,<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|29}} and used it as a platform to launch [[Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War#Confederate Territory of Arizona and Federal New Mexico Territory|attacks into New Mexico and Arizona]] in an effort to force the Union garrisons still in these states to surrender. Initially the Confederate Army had success in their attempts to [[New Mexico Campaign|gain control of New Mexico]], but following the [[Battle of Glorieta Pass]], the Confederate soldiers were forced to retreat when their supply lines were cut.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060215163002/http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-6112 ''Forty years at El Paso, 1858–1898; recollections of war, politics, adventure, events, narratives, sketches, etc.''], by W. W. Mills, hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]</ref>

In 1862, the Confederate garrison abandoned Fort Bliss without a fight when a [[California Column|Federal column of 2,350 men]] under the command of Colonel [[James H. Carleton]] advanced from California.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|30}} The Californians maintained an irregular garrison at Fort Bliss until 1865, when [[5th Infantry Regiment (United States)|5th Infantry]] units arrived to reestablish the post. These were relieved by the [[25th Infantry Regiment (United States)|25th Infantry]], [[Buffalo Soldier]]s, on 12 August 1866, followed by the 35th Infantry two months later.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|33, 35}}

====Camp Concordia (1868–1876)====
After May 1867 [[Rio Grande]] flooding seriously damaged the Magoffinsville post, Fort Bliss was moved to a site called 'Camp Concordia' in March 1868.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|35}} Camp Concordia's location was immediately south of what is now [[Interstate 10]], across from Concordia Cemetery in El Paso. The [[Rio Grande]] was about a mile south of the camp at that time. Water was hauled daily by mule team to the camp. On 11 March 1869 the old name of Fort Bliss was resumed.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|36}}

Water, heating, and sanitation facilities were at a minimum in the [[adobe]] buildings of the fort. Records reveal that troops suffered severely from [[dysentery]] and [[malaria]] and that supplies arrived irregularly over the [[Santa Fe Trail]] by [[wagon train]]. In January 1877, the Concordia post was abandoned.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|36}} After the troops left, El Paso was without a garrison for more than a year. By that time, El Paso and its environs on the north side of the river had swelled to a population of almost 800.

==== Hart's Mill (1878–1893) ====
[[File:Aerial view Fort Bliss 1968.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of Fort Bliss, 1968, with Northeast El Paso in background]]

On New Year's Day 1878, Fort Bliss was established as a permanent post.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|36}} The Company L [[Buffalo Soldier]]s of the [[9th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|Ninth Cavalry]] and Company C of the [[15th Infantry Regiment (United States)|15th Infantry]], were sent to Fort Bliss to prevent further [[San Elizario Salt War|trouble over the salt beds]] and the usage of Rio Grande water for irrigation purposes.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|36,39}} Prior to this date, the government had a policy of leasing property for its military installations. A tract of {{convert|135|acre|km2}} was purchased at Hart's Mill on the river's edge in the Pass, near what is today the [[University of Texas at El Paso|UTEP]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|50}}

With a $40,000 appropriation, a building program began. The first railroad arrived in 1881, and tracks were laid across the military reservation, solving the supply problems for the fort and the rapidly growing town of El Paso. By 1890, Hart's Mill had outlived its usefulness, and Congress appropriated $150,000 for construction of a military installation on the mesa approximately {{convert|5|mi|km}} east of El Paso's 1890 city limits.<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|50}} Although no money was appropriated for the land, $8,250 was easily raised by the local residents, who realized the economic benefit to the area.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Harris |first=Major Kevin L. |title=Guardian of the Pass: the story of the U.S. Army in El Paso }}</ref>

[[File:PoloField,FtBliss.JPG|thumb|Ruhlen's 1893 buildings, currently offices still stand at Fort Bliss, as do the officers' quarters.]]

==== Present site (1893–today) ====
The present site of Fort Bliss on La Noria mesa,<ref>{{cite news | first = Virginia | last = Resa | date = 1 March 2007 | url = http://www.fbmonitor.com/monitor/2007/03%20March/030107/PDF/22.pdf | title = Marker denotes Fort Bliss' rich history | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710230851/http://www.fbmonitor.com/monitor/2007/03%20March/030107/PDF/22.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2011 | newspaper = The Monitor | location = Fort Bliss }}</ref><ref>The [[Arroyo (watercourse)|arroyo]] below La Noria [[mesa]], now occupied by the Patriot Freeway, was once the site of a large military display, 2 February 1920, which was held in honor of General John J. Pershing. The parade was witnessed by El Pasoans seated on the slopes of the mesa. All elements of Fort Bliss took part, including a parade of all 4500 troopers of the Eighth Cavalry, mounted 48 horses abreast.—Trish Long (Dec 2014), "[http://blogs.elpasotimes.com/morgue/2014/12/ 1920: No Better Military Show Ever Staged Than That At Fort Bliss, Asserts Officer With Pershing Party] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20150119173135/http://blogs.elpasotimes.com/morgue/2014/12/ |date=19 January 2015 }}" ''El Paso Times'' morgue. accessdate=2015-01-19</ref> was laid out by Captain John Ruhlen from 1891 to 1892. In October 1893, it was occupied by four companies of the [[18th Infantry Regiment (United States)|18th Infantry]].<ref name=Metz/>{{rp|50}}<ref>Additional information about the construction of Fort Bliss, 1890–1940 (with appendix detailing more information up to 1960) can be found in [https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA277986.pdf Perry Jamieson (1993), ''A Survey History of Fort Bliss'', Historic and Natural Resources Report No. 5, Cultural Resources Management Program, Directorate of Environment, United States Army Air Defense Artillery Center, Fort Bliss]</ref>

===Pershing expedition===
[[File:Camping on the Border, near El Paso, Texas.jpg|thumb|Pershing's camp at the western edge of the present-day Fort Bliss area, 1916]]

In January 1914, [[John J. Pershing]] arrived<ref>NOTE: After a year at Fort Bliss, Pershing decided to arrange for his family to join him. The arrangements were almost complete when, on the morning of 27 August 1915, he received a telegram telling him of a fire in the [[Presidio of San Francisco]]. His wife and three young daughters had been burned to death; only his six-year-old son Warren had been saved. Many who knew Pershing said that he never recovered from the deaths of his wife and daughters. After the funerals at Lakeview Cemetery in [[Cheyenne, Wyoming]], Pershing returned to Fort Bliss with his son, Warren, and his sister Mae, and resumed his duties as commanding officer.</ref> in El Paso to take command of the Army 8th Brigade that was stationed at Fort Bliss. At the time, the [[Mexican Revolution]] was underway in Mexico, and the 8th Brigade had been assigned the task of securing the [[Mexico–United States border]]. In March 1915, under the command of General [[Frederick Funston]], Pershing led the 8th Brigade on the failed 1916–1917 [[Pancho Villa Expedition#Campaign|Punitive Expedition]] into Mexico in search of outlaw [[Pancho Villa]].<ref>NOTE: During the [[Pancho Villa Expedition#Campaign|Pancho Villa Expedition]], General Pershing was assigned a 1915 [[Dodge Brothers]] [[touring car]], serial number 3066, and [[George S. Patton]] served as one of Pershing's aides. [This footnote should be moved to the [[Pancho Villa Expedition#Campaign|Pancho Villa Expedition]] wikipage.]</ref>

On 11 March 2016, members of the 2nd Squadron, 13th Cavalry Regiment, (3rd BCT, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss) conducted a [[staff ride]] at [[Pancho Villa State Park]], NM, the former site of Camp Furlong, 2nd Squadron's billet in 1915. They reviewed the terrain of the 9 March 1916 raid by [[Pancho Villa]]'s forces on the unit 100 years before. The 2nd Squadron then participated in a parade with [[Historical reenactment|reenactor]]s, and Roll Call of the fallen.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160319032651/http://fortblissbugle.com/remembering-the-fallen-100-years-later-2-13-cav-regt-revisits-columbus-n-m/ "Remembering the fallen 100 years later, 2-13 Cav Regt. revisits Columbus, N.M." ''Fort Bliss Bugle'']}} accessdate=2016-03-17</ref>

During this time, the [[Biggs Army Airfield|military airfield in El Paso]] became one of the homes to the [[United States Army Border Air Patrol]] and the [[1st Aero Squadron]], the U.S. Army's first tactical unit equipped with airplanes.

===World War I and postwar===
As [[American Expeditionary Force]]s (AEF) commander (1917–1918), [[John J. Pershing]] transferred to Fort Bliss and was responsible for the organization, training, and supply of an inexperienced force that eventually grew from 27,000 men to over 2,000,000—the [[National Army (USA)|National Army]] of [[World War I]].

From 10 December 1917 – 12 May 1918, the wartime [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)#1920s and 1930s|15th Cavalry Division]] existed at Fort Bliss. Similarly, the [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)#1920s and 1930s|Headquarters, 2nd Cavalry Brigade]] was initially activated at Fort Bliss on 10 December 1917 and then deactivated in July 1919, and reactivated at Fort Bliss on 31 August 1920. Predominantly a cavalry post since 1912, Fort Bliss acquired three light [[Armored car (military)|armored car]]s, eight medium armored cars, two motorcycles, and two trucks in November 1928.<ref name=Metz/>

===World War II and postwar===
During [[World War II]], Fort Bliss focused on training [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft artillery battalions]] (AAA). In September 1940, the Coast Artillery's anti-aircraft training center was established. In 1941, the [[List of units using the B-26 Marauder during World War II#Tow target squadrons|1st Tow Target Squadron]] arrived to fly [[target drone]]s.<ref name=Metz/> The [[List of units using the B-26 Marauder during World War II#Tow target squadrons|6th, 19th, and 27th Tow Target Squadrons]] were at the nearby [[Biggs Army Airfield|Biggs Field]]. On 3 August 1944, the [[United States Army Air Defense Artillery School|Anti-Aircraft Artillery School]] was ordered from [[Camp Davis]] to Fort Bliss to make the training of anti-aircraft gunners easier, and they became the dominant force at Fort Bliss following the departure of the [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Cavalry Division]].<ref name=Metz/> On 15 September 1942, the War Dept. made space available for handling up to 1,350 POWs, while POW camps could be constructed.<ref name="Krammer">{{cite book|last1=Krammer|first1=Arnold|title=Nazi Prisoners of War in America|date=1979|publisher=Stein and Day|location=New York|isbn=0-8128-2571-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/naziprisonersofw00kram/page/27 27]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/naziprisonersofw00kram/page/27}}</ref> During the war, the base was used to hold approximately 91 [[Internment of German Americans|German]], [[Internment of Italian Americans|Italian]], and [[Internment of Japanese Americans|Japanese]] Americans from Hawaii (then a territory), who were arrested as potential [[fifth column]]ists but, in most cases, denied due process.<ref>[http://encyclopedia.densho.org/Fort%20Bliss%20%28detention%20facility%29/ "Fort Bliss"] ''Densho Encyclopedia'' (accessed 12 June 2014)</ref>

[[File:Project Paperclip Team at Fort Bliss.jpg|thumb|upright=1.45|A group of 104 [[Operation Paperclip]] [[rocket scientist]]s in 1946 at Fort Bliss. 35 were at the [[White Sands Proving Grounds]].<ref name=McCleskey>{{cite web |last=McCleskey |first=C. |author2=D. Christensen |title=Dr. Kurt H. Debus: Launching a Vision |url=http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/docs/pdf/debus.pdf |page=35 |access-date=7 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917103545/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/docs/pdf/debus.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2008 }}</ref>]]
<!--A Ft Bliss or WSMR volunteer should use the mountain background of http://history.msfc.nasa.gov/vonbraun/photo/team.html to resolve whether the photo was taken at Fort Bliss or WSPG-->

By February 1946, over 100 [[Operation Paperclip]] German scientists and engineers had arrived to develop [[rocket]]s, and were attached to the Office of the Chief of [[United States Army Ordnance Corps|Ordnance Corps]], Research and Development Service, Suboffice (Rocket), headed by Major James P. Hamill.<ref name=McGovern/> Although these men were initially "pretty much kept [[wikt:on ice|on ice]]", resulting in the nickname "Operation Icebox",<ref name=McGovern>{{cite book |last=McGovern|first=J|title=Crossbow and Overcast|url=https://archive.org/details/crossbowovercast00mcgo|url-access=registration|year=1964|publisher=W. Morrow|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/crossbowovercast00mcgo/page/209 209]–210, 233, 246}}</ref> they were divided into a research group and a group who assisted with [[List of V-2 test launches|V-2 test launches]] at [[White Sands Missile Range|White Sands Proving Grounds]].<ref name=Huzel>{{cite book |last=Huzel|first=Dieter K|title=Peenemünde to Canaveral|year=1962|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey|pages=210, 214 |isbn=0-313-22928-7}}</ref>

German families began arriving in December 1946.<ref name=McGovern/> By the spring of 1948, the number of German rocket specialists, nicknamed "[https://books.google.com/books?id=8jIeqqCkDHQC&dq=%22prisoners+of+peace%22+%22von+braun%22&pg=PA63 Prisoners of Peace]", in the US was 127.<ref name=McGovern/> Fort Bliss rocket launches included firings of the [[Private (rocket)|Private missile]] at the [[Hueco Mountains|Hueco Range]] in April 1945.<ref name=Ley>{{cite book |last=Ley|first=Willy|author-link=Willy Ley|title=Rockets, Missiles and Space Travel|year=1958|edition=revised|publisher=The Viking Press|location=New York|page=246|orig-date=1944}} NOTE: In 1948, the United States honored the 100th year of Fort Bliss with a [[commemorative stamp]] depicting a rocket launch, the first stamp ever issued by the US related to space efforts or to depict a rocket.</ref> In 1953, funding cuts caused the cancellation of work on the [[Hermes project|Hermes B2 ramjet]] work that had begun at Fort Bliss.<ref name=Ordway>{{cite book |last=Ordway |first= Frederick I III|author2=Sharpe, Mitchell R|title=The Rocket Team|series= Apogee Books Space Series 36|year= 1979|publisher=Thomas Y. Crowell|location=New York|pages=395, 423 |isbn=0-434-55300-X}} NOTE: On 3 September 1948, FBI informant PT-1 reported a Fort Bliss barber had been recruited to send missile photographs and information to the Soviet Embassy in Mexico City.<sup>p406</sup></ref>

In late 1953, after troops had been trained at the Ft Bliss Guided Missile School, field-firing operations of the [[MGM-5 Corporal]] were underway at Red Canyon Range Camp, WSPG.<ref name=Corporal>{{cite web|title=Corporal history |url=http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/corporal/corp2.pdf |page=249,263 |quote=In 1960, organizational control of the [[MGM-5 Corporal]] transferred from the ARGMA to the ABMA.  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051113142226/http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/pdf/corporal/corp2.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2005 }}</ref>{{Rp|263}} In April 1950, the 1st Guided Missile Group named the [[Republic-Ford JB-2]] the Army Loon.<ref name=Corporal/>{{Rp|249}}

===Cold War===
[[File:Fort Bliss Facility Map Main Area 1974.jpg|thumb|A map of the main Fort Bliss facility area, 1974]]
Fort Bliss trained thousands of U.S. Soldiers during the [[Cold War]]. As the United States gradually came to master the art of building and operating missiles, Fort Bliss and [[White Sands Missile Range]] became more important to the country, and were expanded accordingly. In July 1957, the U.S. Army Air Defense Center was established at Fort Bliss. Located at this center, in addition to Center Headquarters, are the [[United States Army Air Defense Artillery School|U.S. Army Air Defense School]]; Air Defense; the 6th Artillery Group (Air Defense); the 61st Ordnance Group; and other supporting elements.<ref>During this time the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment was also assigned to Fort Bliss, and later relocated to Fort Carson, Colorado.

{{cite web|url=http://www.goerigk-jever.de/history_fb.htm |title=HISTORY OF FORT BLISS  |access-date=23 September 2006 |publisher=United States Army |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217034156/http://goerigk-jever.de/history_fb.htm |archive-date=17 February 2006}}</ref><ref>

{{cite web |url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/adas.htm |title=Air Defense Artillery School |access-date=9 October 2008 |publisher=GlobalSecurity.org }}</ref> In 1957, Fort Bliss and its anti-aircraft personnel began using [[Nike Ajax]], [[Nike Hercules]], [[MIM-23 Hawk|Hawk]], [[Sprint (missile)|Sprint]], Chaparral, and [[FIM-43 Redeye|Redeye]] missiles.<ref name=Metz/><ref>NOTE: Two other surface-to-surface missile systems—LaCrosse and [[MGR-1 Honest John|Honest John]]— were based at [[Fort Sill]], Oklahoma, but would frequently come to Fort Bliss for the purpose of conducting [[live fire exercise]]s.</ref> Fort Bliss took on the important role of providing a large area for troops to conduct [[live fire exercise]]s with the missiles.

Because of the large number of Army personnel enrolled in the air defense school, Fort Bliss saw two large rounds of construction in 1954 and 1958. The 1954 build was aimed at creating more barracks facilities. Construction in 1958 built new classrooms, materials labs, a radar park, and a missile laboratory.<ref name=Metz/> Between 1953 and 1957, the Army expanded McGregor Range in an effort to accommodate live fire exercises of the new missile systems.<ref name=Metz/> Throughout the [[Cold War]], Fort Bliss remained a premier site for testing anti-aircraft equipment.

Fort Bliss was used as the Desert Stage of the [[Ranger School]] training course, to prepare Ranger School graduates for operations in the deserts of the Middle East. From 1983 to 1987, Fort Bliss was home to the Ranger School's newly formed 4th (Desert Ranger) Training Company. In 1987, this unit was expanded to form the newly created [[Ranger Training Brigade]]'s short-lived 7th Ranger Training Battalion, which was then transferred to the [[Dugway Proving Grounds]] in [[Utah]]. The deserts of Utah proved to be unsuitable, so the 7th Ranger Training Battalion was returned to Fort Bliss from 1991 until the Ranger School's Desert Phase was discontinued in 1995.

While the [[United States Army Air Defense Artillery School]] develops doctrine and tactics, training current and future soldiers has always been Fort Bliss' core mission. Until 1990, Fort Bliss was used for [[United States Army Basic Training|Basic Training]] and [[Advanced Individual Training]] (AIT), under the 1/56 ADA Regiment and the 2/56 ADA Regiment, part of the 6th ADA. Before 1989, 1/56 had three basic training companies and two AIT [[Artillery battery|batteries]]. After 1990, 1/56 dropped basic training, that mission assumed by [[Fort Sill]]. The unit now had four enlisted batteries for enlisted AIT, one battery for the Officer's Basic Course and Captain's Career Course, added in 2004, and one company that trained army truck drivers in [[Military Occupational Specialty|MOS]] 88M.

[[File:Patriot missile launch b.jpg|thumb|upright|A U.S. [[MIM-104 Patriot|Patriot Missile]] fires from its launch canister.]]

===Base realignment and closure===
In 1995, the Department of Defense recommended that the [[U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment]] be relocated to [[Fort Carson]], Colorado. Efforts to consolidate units from another post with those units that remained at Fort Bliss were overruled by the [[Base Realignment and Closing Commission]], leaving Fort Bliss without any armored vehicles. Units operating the US Army's [[MIM-104 Patriot|MIM-104 Patriot Missile Defense System]] relocated to Fort Bliss during the 1990s. The Patriot system played an important role in the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]]/[[Operation Desert Storm]] in 1991. In commemoration, the [[US 54]] expressway in northeast [[El Paso]] was designated the Patriot Freeway.

===War on terror===
After the [[September 11, 2001 attacks]], Fort Bliss provided ADA Battalions for US and NATO use in Afghanistan and Iraq, and has served as one of the major deployment centers for troops bound for [[Iraq]] and [[Afghanistan]]. This mission is accomplished via nearby [[Biggs Army Airfield]], which is included in the installation's supporting areas. Following the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)]] in 2001 Fort Bliss began training Afghan security forces at the [[United States Army Sergeants Major Academy|U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy]] at Fort Bliss, with the hope that these newly trained soldiers would eventually be able to take control of their own national security.

===Base Realignment and Closure, 2005===
{{see also|Base Realignment and Closure, 2005}}
In 2005, the Pentagon recommended transforming Fort Bliss into a heavy armor training post, to include approximately 11,500 new troops from the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Armored Division]] – at that time stationed in Germany – as well as units from [[Fort Sill]] and [[Fort Hood]].<ref name="fiesta time">
{{cite news |first=Darren |last=Mertiz |title=It's Fiesta time! |work=El Paso Times |pages=1A }}</ref> An estimated 15,918 military jobs and 384 civilian jobs were planned to be transferred to Fort Bliss, brought the total number of troops stationed at Fort Bliss under this alignment to 33,500 by 2012.<ref name="archive.elpasotimes.com">{{cite web | url=http://archive.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_28470604/editorial-fort-bliss-sees-modest-cuts-army-shrinks/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926005954/http://archive.elpasotimes.com/opinion/ci_28470604/editorial-fort-bliss-sees-modest-cuts-army-shrinks/ | archive-date=26 September 2015 | title=Editorial: Fort Bliss sees modest cuts as Army shrinks | work=El Paso Times.com }}</ref> Officials from Fort Bliss and the City of El Paso were thrilled with the decision. The general mood of the city government was perfectly captured by 14 May edition of the ''[[El Paso Times]]'', which boldly proclaimed "BLISS WINS BIG".<ref name="bliss wins big">
{{cite news |first=Chris |last=Roberts |title=BLISS WINS BIG |work=El Paso Times |pages=1A }}</ref>

According to [[Texas Senate|Senator]] [[Eliot Shapleigh]], the BRAC commission considered three primary factors to make its decision: The military value of Fort Bliss, the potential for other branches of the armed service to use a post as large as Fort Bliss, and the lack of urban encroachment around Fort Bliss that would otherwise hinder its growth.<ref name="fiesta time"/> The arrival of the 11,500 troops from the 1st Armored Division is also expected to create some 20,196 direct and indirect military and civilian jobs in El Paso.<ref name="jobs"/>

According to the [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]], this is the largest net gain in the United States tied to the Base Realignment and Closure recommendations. Of the 20,196 new jobs expected to come to El Paso as a result of Bliss's realignment, 9,000 would be indirect civilian jobs created by the influx of soldiers to the "Sun City". When the BRAC commission recommendations were released Senator [[Kay Bailey Hutchison]]'s spokesman reported that El Paso was the only area that came out with a major gain of forces.<ref name="jobs">{{cite news |first=Louise |last=Gillot |title=20,196 jobs likely |work=El Paso Times |pages=12A}}</ref>

The news that El Paso had been selected to receive major elements of the 1st Armored Division was met with joy, but at the same time many expressed surprise at the panel's recommendation to transfer the Air Defense Artillery School, [[6th Air Defense Artillery (United States)|6th ADA Brigade]], and its accompanying equipment, including the [[MIM-104 Patriot|MIM-104 Patriot Missile Anti-Aircraft/Anti Missile defense system]], to [[Fort Sill]].<ref name="bliss wins big"/> In August, officials representing Fort Bliss went before the BRAC Commission to plead their case for maintaining the ADA school and its accompanying equipment at Fort Bliss, citing among other thing the size of Fort Bliss and the history of the ADA school in the region.<ref name="gs"/> The BRAC Commission ultimately ruled against Fort Bliss,<ref>
The cost savings for not moving the ADA school were found to be smaller than the effect of consolidating 8 smaller locations into 4 Joint Pre-Deployment/Mobilization Platforms, of which [http://www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/StateInstallationBreakdown/TXFortBliss.pdf Fort Bliss/Holloman] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723223723/http://www.hqda.army.mil/acsim/brac/StateInstallationBreakdown/TXFortBliss.pdf |date=23 July 2011 }} is one. accessdate=3 August 2009
</ref> and the roughly 4,500 affected soldiers were transferred to [[Fort Sill, Oklahoma]]. The entire transfer of soldiers to and from Fort Bliss was completed no later than September 2011.<ref name="gs"/>

In June 2009, authority over the post was shifted from [[United States Army Training and Doctrine Command|Training and Doctrine Command]] to [[FORSCOM|Forces Command]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.army.mil/-news/2009/06/26/23560-fort-bliss-switches-from-tradoc-to-forscom/|title=Fort Bliss switches from TRADOC to FORSCOM  |access-date=2 July 2009 |author=Spc. Jonathan W. Thomas |date=26 June 2009 |publisher=United States Army |page=1}}</ref>