Even its name makes clear that Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora is on the leading edge of our nation’s defense. U.S. national security depends more than ever on our ability to develop and deploy the latest satellite technology to keep the peace high above the Earth in space.
At the same time, Buckley’s role in defending our skies also is essential to national security. The combat-seasoned pilots of the Air National Guard’s 140th Wing, long based at Buckley, are ready to scramble into the air on a moment’s notice. The fighter wing repeatedly has been deployed abroad in key conflicts requiring U.S. air superiority. And it would be front and center if it becomes necessary to defend the skies above Colorado and the rest of the U.S.
Alongside that, as a news report in The Gazette reminded us the other day, Buckley happens to play yet another pivotal role — in Colorado’s economy.
The base had an estimated economic impact of about $2.5 billion in 2023, said Col. Heidi Dexter, who command’s Buckley’s Space Base Delta 2 and touted Buckley’s economic might at last week’s “State of the Base” gathering.