Peterson’s Blueprint & Personnel Changes at Fort Carson

            Peterson Air Force Base recently invited a few of us out for a 2050 Blueprint Update. It is no secret the base is facing a squeeze in real estate for available projects, and this filled in some of the details. Wing Commander, Col. Jay Raymond, said there isn’t a month that goes by that someone doesn’t call wanting space to locate a new program or facility. They must be serious about the shortage of space - they shut down the skeet range last year for development purposes.
           
The majority of the land the base occupies belongs to Colorado Springs and the base is negotiating with the city for some additional acreage in the no-build area just north of the runways that they plan to use for parking and to operate shuttles to various buildings around the base. This will allow them to free up some of the space currently being used for parking. The owner of 23 acres north of the base is ready and willing to sell, the concern now is whether he will wait long enough to get the money appropriated through Congress.
           
Access is always a concern as the population grows, both on and off base. Some of us remember when the north gate was the main gate and now it is only open part time. The new Commissary and Post Exchange are located by the east gate which is on Marksheffel. The west gate was recently rebuilt for “force protection” and the plan is for an interchange to connect that gate to Powers Blvd. That will be a state funded project as Powers is a state highway, and while plans are being firmed up and negotiations with land owners continuing no funding has been identified for the near future.
           
A couple of unrelated facts I picked up at the briefing, a satellite 22,300 miles in orbit remains stationary over the same spot on earth and there are 35 general officers at Peterson.  
           
On the other side of the interstate, I recently attended the 4th Brigade Combat Team’s change of command at Fort Carson from Col. Jeffrey Bannister to Col. Randy George. Col. Bannister moved the brigade, then named the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Infantry Division, to Fort Carson and spent 15 months in Iraq. Speaking with Col. Bannister shortly after he returned from Iraq it became apparent that his involvement in the surge had been a significant event in his career. He gave the same report then that his new boss Lt. General Ray Odierno, who has been nominated to take Gen. Petraeus’ place in Iraq, gave at a briefing later that afternoon for several community leaders and elected officials. They both stated that the surge had been a turning point in the war in Iraq and conditions are significantly better now than 2006, with an emphasis on empowering the Iraqi military and police to take and maintain control of their cities and county.

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