4.2.1 History of the Installation

WWII Facilities

Camp Carson was established on 6 January 1942 as a temporary training camp to prepare soldiers for combat during World War II.  One of the primary considerations that influenced this location for the training camp was the ideal climate for year-round training.  Fort Carson was developed with respect to the standard design of the early 1940’s and is similar to other installations constructed in that period. The main cantonment area of was modified from the standard linier layout to conform to the natural terrain and wrap around the hill mass on the eastern side of the cantonment area.

Hundreds of buildings were rapidly constructed to respond to the immediate wartime necessity for mobilization.  These buildings were of an extremely utilitarian design that supported expedient construction.  These original wood structures were then, and still are some 65 years later, considered to be only "temporary" in nature.  Few of these original buildings remain but their initial footprint of Camp Carson remains in its current form.

The later development and replacement of the temporary structures with permanent masonry facilities occurred over the next six decades. The permanent facilities have been built through a "piece-meal" approach due to annual construction funding restraints. This incremental approach resulted in an inconsistent and undisciplined visual environment. For many years, each project was put in place as an individual and separate unit, with little consideration for the larger framework of the post. This pattern of visual distraction has been slowly reduced since the implementation of the initial Fort Carson Installation Design Guide in 1988. Each new permanent construction project now provides an excellent opportunity to provide harmony and unity with both prior and planned projects on the installation.

After training over 100,000 soldiers at Camp Carson during World War II, in 1954 the government decided to make the camp a permanent installation and changed the name to Fort Carson.  Since 1962, Fort Carson has housed and supported mechanized infantry training activities.

The challenges of training a mechanized division triggered the need for more land.  In 1965, Fort Carson acquired 24,577 acres of state land (leased since 1942) by trading it for federal land east of Denver.  In 1965 and 1966, a total of 78,741 acres of land were acquired south of the original reservation at a cost of approximately $3.5 million.  This consisted of 45,236 acres purchased from private individuals, 22,694 acres of state land traded for more land at the Lowry Bombing Range, and 7,668 acres purchased from the Colorado School of Mines.  An additional 2,871 acres were acquired without cost from the Department of the Interior in trade for Camp Hale.  These additions brought Fort Carson to its current size of 138,523 acres.  On March 7, 1966, Camp Red Devil was opened.  The camp was the first year-round training area at Fort Carson for soldiers in a field environment.  The base camp, which could accommodate as many as 950 soldiers, is located south of the main post off Highway 115.

The Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), located 150 miles southeast of Fort Carson, is a great training asset for Fort Carson, other installations, National Guard, and reserve units from all branches of the service.  It was opened in 1985 to provide critical maneuver lands for larger units on the installation and from other installations in the area.  Its 235,896 acres, combined with Fort Carson's training areas, comprise maneuver training lands second only to the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California in size.
 
Fort Carson, with 97,201 acres of range land, supports limited battalion-size and smaller training exercises.  Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site is one of the Army's force-on-force, mechanized brigade training exercises.  It is the second largest Department of Defense training site in the nation. 

The site supports a diverse ecosystem with large numbers of big and small game, fisheries, non-game wildlife, forest, rangeland, and mineral resources.  It is bounded on the east by the dramatic topography of the Purgatoire River Canyon, a 100 meter (328 foot) deep scenic red canyon with flowing streams, sandstone formations, and exposed geologic processes.

PCMS was opened for training in the summer of 1985.  Units at Fort Carson are rotated to the site for maneuver training and preparation for the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.  Development of the training site includes the construction of a dirt airstrip; additions to the cantonment area; a mechanical maintenance facility; and non-dud producing live fire ranges.

Regional Setting