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34 ° 43'58 "N 120 ° 34'05" W  /  34.73278 ° N 120.56806 ° W  / 34.73278; -120.56806 Coordinates: 34 ° 43'58 "N 120 ° 34'05" W  /  34.73278 ° N 120.56806 ° W  / 34.73278; -120.56806

Lompoc Military Base

Lompoc Military Base

Vandberg Air Force Base (IATA: VBG, ICAO: KVBG, FAA LID: VBG), formerly Vandberg Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandberg Air Force Base is a space launch base that launches spacecraft from the Western Region and also conducts rocket testing. The US Space Force's Delta 30 spacecraft serves as the base's delta. In addition to the military space launch mission, Vandberg Space Force Base also hosts space missions for civilian and commercial space entities such as NASA and SpaceX.

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In 1941, the United States Army began an initiative to acquire land in the United States that could be used for infantry and artillery training. These areas had to be varied to ensure adequate training. In March 1941, the Army acquired about 35,000 ha (86,000 acres) of ranch land on the central coast of California between Lompoc and Santa Maria. Most of the land was bought up. Smaller parcels were acquired either as leases, licenses or easements. With its flat plateau, surrounding hills, numerous canyons, and relative distance from populated areas, the Army was convinced it had found an ideal training ground.

The construction of the army camp began in September 1941. Although completion was still months away, the Army activated the camp on October 5, 1941, naming it Major General Phillip St. Camp Cooke in honor of George Cooke.

Geral Cooke was a cavalry officer whose military career spanned nearly half a century, from his graduation from West Point in 1827 to his retirement in 1873. He served in the Mexican War, the Indian Wars, and the Civil War. Geral Cooke, a native of Virginia, remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. Perhaps his greatest achievement was when he led a Mormon battalion from Missouri to California as a colonel during the Mexican War. The route, led by Colonel Cooke in 1847, brought the first railroad to California, and today the railroad follows many of the early railroad tracks.

Although the construction of Camp Cooke continued until 1942, the training of the troops could not wait. The 5th Armored Division entered the camp in February and March 1942. From the 10th to the d of the war, it was also held by other armored and infantry divisions, before they too went overseas for service.

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Besides the 5th Division, the 6th, 11th, 13th and 20th Armored Divisions, the 86th and 97th Infantry Divisions and the 2nd Philippine Infantry Regiment were also stationed at Cooke at various times during the war. Various anti-aircraft artillery, combat engineer, artillery and hospital units were also trained at Cooke. More than 400 separate outfits passed through Camp Cooke.

As the war progressed, German and Italian prisoners of war (the latter organized into Italian service units) were placed at Camp Cooke. The two groups were kept separate from each other in accordance with the 1929 Geva Prisoner of War Convention and held a variety of jobs locally, including mechanical and civil engineering services, clerical positions, food service and basic laundry. To alleviate the severe labor shortages in the commercial market caused by wartime emergencies, Germans also worked in local communities - mainly agricultural work.

In 1946, a top-security army disciplinary barracks was built on the local property. Prisoners of war from across the army were confined to the facility. When Camp Cooke was closed in June 1946, Disciplinary Department personnel were given additional responsibilities as caretakers of the facility. Most of the camp was leased for farming and grazing purposes.

Lompoc Military Base

From August 1950 to February 1953, Camp Cooke served as a training ground for combat units in Korea and as a summer training base for many other reserve units. On February 1, 1953, the camp was deactivated again. Meanwhile, the disciplinary quarters were transferred to the United States Bureau of Prisons in August 1959 to house civilian offenders. Today it is known as the Lompoc United States Penitentiary.

California Military Bases

In September 2000, veterans of the 40th Infantry Division gathered at Vandberg Air Force Base to dedicate the Korean War Memorial. In June 2001, most of what remained of Camp Cooke was demolished, including some barracks used by the 40th Infantry Division during its mobilization for the Korean War; only a few buildings, including the boxing and gymnasium building, remained standing until they too were demolished in 2010.

In connection with the advent of the rocket age in the 1950s, there was an urgent need for an adequate training site, which could also be the first combat-ready missile base. In January 1956, a selection committee was formed to examine more than 200 pots that the Army deemed desirable in 1941 before choosing Camp Cooke. -circling operations Cooke's coastal location allowed missiles to be launched into the Pacific Ocean without flying over the population. This same geographical feature also allowed the satellites to be placed in a polar orbit directly towards the South Pole without passing over any land mass until they reached Antarctica.

In September 1956, Secretary of the Air Force Donald A. Quarles accepted the committee's recommendation. A few weeks later, on November 16, 1956, Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson ordered the Army to grant 26,000 ha (64,000 acres) of North Camp Cooke to the United States Air Force for use for missile launch and training. base and in June 1957 North Camp Cooke was designated Cooke Air Force Base (AFB) and turned over to the Air Force on 21 June 1957. However, in January 1957, the Air Force entered the camp, and with the arrival of the first Airmen in February 1957, the 15th Support Squadron 6591 was established. The original mission of Cooke AFB was to be a training base. site of the PGM-17 Thor, SM-65 Atlas, and HGM-25A Titan I missiles, as well as the Atlas ICBM emergency operational facility.

The base was a jumble of dilapidated World War II buildings in the middle of weeds and bushes. The roads – mostly gravel and dirt tracks – needed major repairs. In late April 1957, parallel rotation and construction programs began. Over the next two years, rocket launch and control facilities began to appear. Old buildings were torn down and new ones built, including one to house the Capehart military family. Work was already underway when the Air Force held official groundbreaking ceremonies on May 8, 1957.

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The 392d Air Base Group was activated to command Cooke AFB, replacing the 6591st Support Squadron on 15 Apr 1957. With the activation of the 704th Strategic Missile Wing (Atlas) at Cooke on 1 Jul 1957, the 392d was assigned to the wing. It was the Air Force's first ballistic missile wing. On 16 July 1957, the 1st Missile Division, activated three months earlier at Inglewood, California, moved to Cooke Air Force Base to oversee wing operations. The work of the latter two organizations during this formative period included planning and training for missile operations. The division was assigned to the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division (AFBMD) in Inglewood, California, which in turn reported to the Air Research and Development Command (ARDC) at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.

The launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 on October 4, 1957, followed a month later by the launch of Sputnik 2, the dog Laika, had military implications and immediately accelerated the United States Air Force's missile program. As part of the acceleration, on November 23, 1957, the US Department of Defse authorized the launch of peacetime ballistic missiles from Cooke AFB. The Air Force transferred command of Cooke AFB from ARDC to Strategic Air Command (SAC) on 1 January 1958. Along with the transfer, SAC acquired three ARDC base organizations and responsibility for initial operational capability (IOC) at nasct U.S. rocket power. Their mission also included training rocket launch teams.

The reorganization allowed ARDC to retain responsibility for site activation and ballistic missile research and development testing, also known as Category II testing. These activities were conducted by an AFBMD field office established at Cooke shortly after the transfers in January 1958. Space launches were to be conducted by ARDC and SAC. However, most of these operations were later handled by the ARDC. Sharing the mission at Cooke, the two commands developed a close relationship that was to flourish for the next 35 years.

Lompoc Military Base

On February 12, 1958, the United States Department of Defense transferred executive responsibility

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