Joseph T. Page II Livres

Rapid City Army Air Base was constructed in 1942 and used as a training location for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber aircrews throughout the duration of World War II. After the war, the newly renamed Rapid City Air Force Base (AFB) led the nation's strategic bombardment force, deploying B-29 Superfortresses to Britain during the Berlin Blockade and later flying the B-36 Peacemaker heavy bomber. In 1953, Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed the base for Brig. Gen. Richard E. Ellsworth, who was killed during a mission over Burgoyne's Cove, Newfoundland. From 1960 to 1994, Ellsworth AFB was a Strategic Air Command superbase containing two legs of the American Strategic Nuclear Triad--heavy bomber aircraft (B-52 Stratofortresses and B-1B Lancers) and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (Titan and Minuteman). Today, the personnel at Ellsworth AFB continue to build upon the storied legacy of the South Dakota base, projecting American airpower around the world.

Starting out as the Consolidated Space Operations Center at Falcon Air Force Station, the Air Force corollary to NASA's Johnson Space Center, Schriever Space Force Base has become the most important military installation in the entire world, with its command and control of all major U.S. military satellite systems. Named after the "Father of Air Force Space and Missiles,'? General Bernard "Bennie'? Schriever, the installation provides 24-hours-a-day/365-days-a-year command and control to the nation's vital satellite assets. Space systems under control by Schriever personnel include the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, which provides free, world-wide access to positioning, navigation, and timing signals; Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), weather satellites poised to provide warfighters with accurate environmental data; Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites, providing communications connectivity to U.S. and Allied forces around the world; and the Satellite Control Network (SCN), a network of world-wide locations providing connectivity to satellites in low, medium, and geosynchronous Earth orbit. Today, Schriever SFB personnel continue to exemplify the United States Space Force's motto of Semper Supra, "Always Above.'?

The White Sands National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of Alamogordo in western Otero County and northeastern Doña Ana County in the state of New Mexico, at an elevation of 4235 feet (1291 m). The area is in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin and comprises the southern part of a 710-km2 (275-mi2) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. It is the largest gypsum dune field in the world.--Wikipedia.

The narrative explores the rich history of Vandenberg Air Force Base, highlighting its transformation from native tribal lands to a pivotal site for the U.S. space and missile program. Spanning over 45 miles of California coastline, the base has been instrumental in over 1,900 launches since 1957, including the first photoreconnaissance satellite. The book also delves into the ecological diversity present on the base, featuring ancient Chumash rock drawings and a variety of wildlife, all while showcasing its legacy as a key military installation.