Fort D.A. Russell (Wyoming)
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- For the former military base in Marfa, Texas, see Fort D. A. Russell (Texas).
Fort D. A. Russell was a post and base of operations for the United States Army located in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The base was established in 1867 and named in honor of David Allen Russell, a Civil War general killed at the Battle of Opequon. In 1930, the fort's name was changed to Fort Francis E. Warren. In 1949, it became Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.
Over the years, the base served as home for numerous influential American military leaders such as Carl Spaatz, Black Jack Pershing, Billy Mitchell, Walter Reed, and Mark Clark.
Units of the 30th Infantry and 2nd Cavalry were the first occupants of the fort when it was founded as a temporary base in 1876. In 1884, it became a permanent base. It was the home to three Black regiments; the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th Infantry (the famous Buffalo Soldiers) for much of the late 19th century.
By the turn of the 20th Century, Fort D. A. Russell was one of the largest cavalry bases in the United States and several more expansions in the early 20th century further increased its size.
In 1919, the airfield became active and soon served as the home field for over 100 military aircraft. The last cavalry units on the post were deactivated in 1927. In 1930, the base was renamed Fort Francis E. Warren. Warren was a Medal of Honor winner who served as Governor of Wyoming.
During World War II, Fort Francis E. Warren served as a training facility for the US Army Quartermaster Corps. A prisoner of war camp was also constructed on the site.
In 1949, the base was redesignated the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base and became part of the Strategic Air Command in 1958. The base became the headquarters for the 90th Strategic Missile Wing in 1963. The wing controlled over 200 ICBMs during the Cold War. The base was the only missile wing to have Peacekeeper missiles which were deactivated in October of 2005.
On October 1, 1993, the Twentieth Air Force, which controls all of America's ICBM wings, relocated its headquarters to Warren.
The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975.
