Buckley Air Force Base Buckley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Aurora , Colorado , that was established by the U . S . Army in 1943 . The base was named in honor of World War I Army pilot 1LT John Harold Buckley . Overview . Buckley Air Force Base is an Air Force Space Command base that serves more than 92 , 000 active duty , National Guard , Reserve and retired personnel throughout the Front Range community . Buckley AFB defends America through its air operations , space - based missile warning capabilities , space surveillance operations , space communications operations and support functions . Units . The mission of Buckley Air Force Base ' s host unit , the 460th Space Wing is to deliver global infrared surveillance , tracking missile warning for theater and homeland defense and provide combatant commanders with expeditionary warrior Airmen . The 460th Space Wing is broken into three groups , each responsible for a distinct part of the Buckley Air Force Base mission . The base also hosts the Colorado Air National Guard 120th Fighter Squadron and its F - 16C fighters , the 140th Wing also includes the Air Mobility Command ' s 200th Airlift Squadron , operating the C - 21 Learjet ; the Air Force Space Command ' s 137th Space Warning Squadron ; and the Pacific Air Forces ' s 240th Civil Engineering Flight . Air National Guardsmen of the Colorado Air National Guard provide services during national emergencies or wartime and natural disasters . The Colorado Air National Guard is an integral part of the Operation Noble Eagle mission responsible for the 24 - hour - a - day defense of the land , sea , and air of the United States . The ANG ' s state and federal mission is to provide trained , well - equipped men and women who can augment the active force during national emergencies or war , and provide assistance during natural disasters and civil disturbances . The guard plays a significant role in the Noble Eagle mission responsible for 24 - hour defense of the land , sea and air of the continental United States . The Colorado Army National Guard operates the Army Aviation Support Facility at Buckley AFB and is responsible for supplying personnel and equipment for CH - 47 Chinook , UH - 1 Huey , and UH - 60 Blackhawk helicopters . Tenant Units . 77 tenant units call Buckley AFB " Home " . In addition , a $ 141 million facility for the National Security Agency is planned on the base , which will provide space for 850 people whose offices are now in temporary buildings . Buckley is home to a large contingent of secretive agencies , including the NSA and the National Reconnaissance Office ; the Aerospace Data Facility - Colorado ; Army , Navy , Air Force and Marine intelligence and information units ; and Marine and Coast Guard cryptologic units . History . World War II . During the early years of World War II the city of Denver purchased a parcel of land several miles east of the city and donated it to the Department of the Army . The site was named Buckley Field after 1st Lt . John Harold Buckley , a Longmont , Colorado , native , who was killed while on a combat strafing mission behind enemy lines in France on September 17 , 1918 . Under the command of the 336th AAF Base Unit ( Army Air Forces Technical Training Command ) , construction on this air base began in early 1942 , and that resulted in the construction of over 700 buildings . On 1 July 1942 , the U . S . Army Air Corps Technical Training School there opened . It consisted of bombardier and armorer training for aircrewmen on the B - 17 Flying Fortress and B - 24 Liberator bombers . During WWII , Buckley Field also trained over 50 , 000 airmen in initial basic training . The Cold War years . With WWII over , Buckley Field ' s military role quickly diminished , and in 1946 it became an auxiliary field of the nearby Lowry Air Force Base . Lowry in turn transferred control of the base to the Colorado Air National Guard that same year . Air National Guard ownership lasted less than one year , and then in 1947 the Department of the Navy took charge of the base and renamed it Naval Air Station Denver . The renamed base was the location of Naval Air Reserve aviation squadrons , as well as for veterans and their families waiting to return to civilian life . Thousands of veterans returned to civilian life here over the next four years , while Naval Air Reservists concurrently conducted operational training . The Navy remained here for 12 years before decommissioning its base on June 30 , 1959 , and transferring it back to the U . S . Air Force ( which had not existed before 1947 ) , which renamed the facility Buckley Air Force Base . However , the Naval Reserve remained at Buckley as tenant activity known as Naval Air Reserve Center Denver , the predecessor of the present day Navy Operational Support Center Denver . Buckley Field once again became the Buckley Air National Guard Base on April 18 , 1960 . At the same time , it became the first stand - alone Air National Guard base in the country . The Colorado Air National Guard remained in control of Buckley Field for the next 40 years , operating it as a fighter base . During the Cold War era , the Colorado Air National Guard mobilized the Buckley - based 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron for events as the Cuban Missile Crisis , the USS " Pueblo " crisis , and the Vietnam War . During the 1950s and 1960s , the growth of Aurora , Denver ’ s eastern neighbor , edged toward Buckley Field . The land of the air base was annexed to Aurora in 1965 and 1966 ; however , the installation is US Government property under Federal jurisdiction . Other tenant units at Buckley Field during the Cold War era included the : Modern era . Although the Cold War ended in the early 1990s , the 120th Tactical Fighter Wing did not see any decrease in its responsibilities . This Fighter Wing deployed from Buckley Field numerous times during the decade of the 1990s to take part in various military operations such as Operation Desert Storm , Operation Northern Watch , and Operation Iraqi Freedom . In October 2000 , the Buckley Air National Guard base was transferred to U . S . Air Force control , and it was renamed the Buckley Air Force Base . Since the return of Buckley Field to the Air Force in 2000 , the air base has seen an unprecedented amount of new construction and modernization . New enlisted airmen ' s dormitories , the commissary , the base exchange , and the fitness center have all been completed , augmented by the completion of family housing units - the first ones ever constructed at Buckley Field .