F. E. Warren Air Force Base

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Francis E. Warren Air Force Base (IATA: FEW, ICAO: KFEW) is a base of the United States Air Force. It is part of the Cheyenne, Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the base had a total population of 4,440. It is located 3 miles (5 km) west of central Cheyenne, Laramie County, Wyoming, United States of America and borders the town directly along the I-25 corridor. Headquarters for the Twentieth Air Force are located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, and also the 90th Space Wing. The base's main focus is the operation of the LGM-30 Minuteman ICBM, with silos in Southeast Wyoming, Western Nebraska, and Northern Colorado.

The base was named for Francis Emory Warren, the first governor and long time senator of Wyoming. It was transferred to the Air Force by the Army in 1948.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Warren AFB was founded as Fort D.A. Russell, US Army cavalry post in 1867 to help protect railroad development in the frontier area of Wyoming.

When it became an Air Force base in 1947, the only fixed-wing airfield ever at F. E. Warren was a single dirt strip. This field, never used by modern day pilots, was made famous by World War I ace Cap. Eddie Rickenbacker who crashed his plane on the field. Maj. Carl Spaatz who was later promoted to general and the first Air Force Chief of Staff, served at this base.

Warren was initially used as a training facility. In 1958, 24 Atlas missile sites were established there under Strategic Air Command.

Beginning in 1962, the new Minuteman replaced the Atlas. During the early 1970s, the Minuteman I missiles were replaced with Minuteman III missiles. In the late 1980's Peacekeeper missiles began to be based there. The Peacekeeper missiles were deactivated in the fall of 2005 with the dissolution of the 400th Missile Squadron.

During a period of Air Force reorganization in the early 1990s, Warren transitioned from SAC to Air Combat Command, and finally, on 1 July 1993 to Air Force Space Command. The based 90th Missile Wing became the 90th Space Wing on 1 October 1997.

When the LGM-118A Peacekeeper was in service with the Air Force they were stationed here. The last were withdrawn from service in September of 2005 when the 400th Missile Squadron deactivated.

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commision (BRAC) did not recommend making any significant change to the base's current operations. ^[1]

[edit] Geography

Warren AFB is located at 41°8'40" North, 104°51'53" West (41.144375, -104.864776)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the base has a total area of 13.1 km² (5.0 mi²). 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.79% water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there are 4,440 people, 639 households, and 631 families residing on Warren AFB. The population density is 342.9/km² (888.3/mi²). There are 735 housing units at an average density of 56.8/km² (147.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 79.62% White, 9.39% African American, 0.50% Native American, 2.21% Asian, 0.34% Pacific Islander, 4.39% from other races, and 3.56% from two or more races. 8.76% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 639 households out of which 82.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 92.2% are married couples living together, 4.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 1.1% are non-families. 1.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.59 and the average family size is 3.58.

On Warren AFB, the population is spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 26.7% from 18 to 24, 48.4% from 25 to 44, 1.8% from 45 to 64, and 0.0% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 25 years. For every 100 females there are 201.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 259.4 males.

The median income for a household on the base is $32,589, and the median income for a family is $32,946. Males have a median income of $25,247 versus $20,819 for females. The per capita income for the town is $18,426. 2.4% of the population and 2.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 2.6% of those under the age of 18 and 0.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.