You’re relocating to Denver; WELCOME! The city grew by more than 19% between 2010 and 2020, and the big-city energy combined with close proximity to the mountains continues to be attractive to new residents. As you start planning your move to Colorado, crunch the numbers. Your monthly budget in the Mile High City will depend on a range of factors, including your neighborhood, housing situation, household size, and more. A single person may need $3,796 each month to cover housing, food, transportation, taxes and other necessities. For a family of four, that monthly figure jumps to $8,501 with childcare out in town as the largest line item in the budget.
The Denver Metro area has a high cost of living: 18% higher than the national average. The median salary is $94,100. As of Jan 2024, the National Association of Realtors data shows the median sales price for a single-family home in the Denver metro area is $583,000 (the national median price is $366,900.) Townhomes in Denver are averaging $381,500. The median apartment rental in Denver is $2,095 per month. Utility costs are below the national average, estimating a package of electricity, heating, water and garbage for a 915 sq. ft. apartment costs $145 and internet at $63.
Welcome to Buckley Space Force Base. Please visit 460 FSS – We Move Mountains to get connected to the Buckley SFB community and stay informed through our monthly publication: Orbiter – 460 FSS.
Visit the Military & Family Readiness Center (M&FRC, Bldg. 606 Rm. 140) or call DSN 312-847-6681 to register for the BSFB Newcomers' Orientation & Information Fair as part of the DoD Relocation Assistance Program, available to all service members and their families authorized to make a PCS. The Relocation Assistance Program (RAP) is vital, providing customers with access to online tools to assist them at every stage of the PCS. This service delivery supports the time-honored tradition and culture of taking care of Airmen, Guardians, and families to ensure effective contribution to unit, installation mission, and community.
The M&FRC also connects individuals and families with the right resources. In the event the M&FRC is unable to provide direct assistance, referrals will be made to the best resources based on the need.
The Defense Switched Network (DSN) is a primary information transfer network for the Defense Information System Network (DISN) of the United State Department of Defense. The DSN provides the worldwide non-secure voice, secure-voice, data, facsimile and video teleconferencing services for DoD Command and Control (C2) elements, their supporting activities engaged in logistics, personnel, engineering, and intelligence as well as other Federal agencies.
The Buckley Space Force Base operator can be reached at DSN 312-847-9011.
Buckley SFB's host unit Space Base Delta 2 (SBD2) falls under the direction of the United States Space Force.SBD2 is responsible for day-to-day support to the operational mission of Space Delta 4 (DEL 4) Missile Warning Delta. Buckley SFB and DEL 4 directly support Combatant Commands across the globe.
Buckley SFB is home to 117 tenant units including Space DELTA 4 Missile Warning, the 140th Air Wing, Colorado Air National Guard (COANG), the Navy Reserve Center Denver, the Aerospace Data Facility-Colorado, the Army Aviation Support Facility and the Air Reserve Personnel Center. These are also known as the "Big Six" mission partners at Buckley.
Buckley SFB truly represents a joint, Total Force and coalition base. This includes 3,500 active duty members from every service, 4,000 National Guard personnel and Reservists, four commonwealth international partners, 2,400 civilians, 2,500 contractors, 94,000 retirees and approximately 40,000 veterans and dependents. The base contributes over $1 billion annually to the local economy.
What is now Buckley Space Force Base started as Buckley Field, named for 1st Lt. John Harold Buckley, a World War One fighter pilot killed in combat on a strafing mission behind enemy lines on the Western Front in France. The city of Denver purchased the land and donated it to the Army in the early years of World War Two. The Army quickly established a large US Army Air Force Base, training over fifty thousand airmen through basic, and housing a technical training center for bombardier and armorer roles.After World War II, Buckley became an auxiliary field for Lowry AFB, an Air National Guard Field, and then a Navy Air Station all in the space of three years. Buckley was renamed Naval Air Station Denver until the base was transferred to the US Air Force in 1959, when it became Buckley Air Force Base for a year, before becoming Buckley Air National Guard Base - the first stand-alone Air National Guard Base, home of the 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron. The 120th mobilized for operations for the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and Operations Desert Storm, Northern Watch, and Iraqi Freedom.
Buckley returned to Air Force service in 2000 and witnessed a wave of modernization in commissary, dormitory, and housing facilities, as well as a base exchange and an expansion of mission facilities. Buckley became the base for the 460th Space Wing (previously the 460th Air Base Wing) in 2004, and for the next 16 years continued to host the Colorado Air National Guard while supporting more than 90 base partners located both on-base and in the local community. The 460th Space Wing was deactivated in July 2020, and in its place, Buckley Garrison was activated as a unit of the newly established United States Space Force. The Garrison provided installation support functions for the resident air operations, space-based missile warning capabilities, space surveillance operations, and space communications missions.
Most recently, and during a historical U.S. Space Force ceremony, the Department of the Air Force renamed Buckley Air Force Base to Buckley Space Force Base on June 4, 2021. The name change does not bespeak a change in Buckley’s mission, but rather signifies a realignment of our installation under the Space Force. It also highlights the multi-faceted mission of the base and tenant units across multiple domains – Air, Space, Cyberspace, Land, and Sea. The total-force integrated team is integral to the success of the missile warning mission along with the success of Team Buckley.
Population numbers were provided by the 460 FSS Manpower and the Military Personnel Flight, except veterans and retirees.
Buckley Space Force Base is located in Aurora, Colorado. Aurora is a home rule municipality located across the 3 counties of Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas in Colorado, United States. The city's population was 404,615 according to the latest United States Census. Aurora is the 3rd most populous city in the state and the 48th most populous city in the United States. Aurora is a principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Rocky Mountain Front Range Urban Corridor.
Buckley SFB provides services to Air Force, Space Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard service members and their families as well as Guardsman, Reservists, DoD Civilians, Defense Contractors, and the surrounding area's military retiree community.
Located on the doorstep of the Rocky Mountains, Buckley Space Force Base is in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb just outside of the major metropolitan area of Denver. The city of Aurora is primarily located in Arapahoe County with a small portion of the northern boundary in Adams County and the south-western border in Douglas county. The city of Aurora is the 3rd largest and most diverse city in Colorado and the 48th largest city in the United States. There are many retired and military families within the nearby community with veterans making up 9% of the total population. Those relocating here will find a wealth of outdoor activities within easy reach and over 300 fabulously sunny days per year.
Buckley Space Force Base Visitor Center, now located at the Mississippi Gate: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Closed on weekends, holidays, and family days.
The Mississippi Gate is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can issue passes in the event the Visitor Center is Closed. The 6th Avenue Gate is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Drill weekends, holidays and Space Base Delta 2 down days may impact hours
The Telluride gate is closed until further notice.
For more information please contact the Buckley SFB Visitor Center at 720-847-9381.
To get a Common Access Card or Dependent Identification Card visit one of the following locations:
Buckley SFB Military Personnel Flight, ID card Service, Bldg. 606
Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Mon, Tue, Thur, and Fri. 8 a.m. to noon on Wednesday.
MPF appointments provide best/fastest service. Walk-ins will still be welcomed and accommodated based on availability, however those who walk-in may experience longer wait times. Pin Resets will continue to be expedited to the next available window.
To schedule an appointment visit, please sign up through https://rapids-appointments.dmdc.osd.mil/ (select Buckley SFB).
Alternate ID card Locations:
Air National Guard – 140 ANG (Buckley SFB)
18860 E. Breckenridge Ave, Hanger 801, Room N224
Phone: 720-847-9295
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursday from 12 to 4: p.m., UTA Weekends (Saturday) from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. & Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Navy Reserve Center (Buckley SFB)
7 North Snowmass Street, Bldg. 1301
Phone: 720-847-7808
Hours: Monday through Friday from 9 to 11 a.m. & 1 to 4 p.m.
Buckley Space Force Base is located in Aurora, Colorado.
For map-app directions to the Buckley SFB 24-hour Mississippi Gate - use "S. Vail St. and E. Mississippi Ave" (Apple Maps). For other apps, use "E. Mississippi Ave. and Aspen St." The Buckley Visitor Center is located at this entry point.
For the Buckley SFB 6th Ave. Gate - use the address "18500 East Sixth Avenue, Aurora, CO, 80011." Gate hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Should you arrive at the 6th Ave Gate after it has closed, you must go to the 24-hr. Mississippi Ave Gate for entry to Buckley.
Any trucks or vans with company logos (to include moving vans) must use the 6th Ave. Large Vehicle Inspection Point (LVIP) east of the 6th Ave gate. The LVIP hours of operations will be Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. After duty-hours deliveries will not be processed. All vehicles must be searched when entering Buckley.
Drive from the Denver International Airport (DIA) to Buckley:
From the Arrival Terminal, follow the Airport exit sign
Continue onto Pena Blvd
Keep left to stay on Pena Blvd
Take the U.S. 70 E/40th Ave/Airport Blvd exit
Continue onto N Airport Blvd (signs for I-70)
Turn left on E 6th Ave (Buckley Air Force Base, 18500 E 6th Ave, Aurora, CO 80011)
You can reach Buckley Space force Base via several Interstates:
From I-70 West -
If you are traveling on I-70 west, exit south onto Airport Blvd, which will change to Buckley Rd exit # 285. Go south past Colfax Ave. until reaching 6th Ave. approximately 2 1/2 miles. Turn left (east) onto 6th Ave. Go approximately 1 mile to the main gate entrance of Buckley Garrison.
From I-70 East -
If you are traveling on I-70 east exit south onto I-225 exit # 283 then follow the directions below for I-225.
From I-225 -
If you are traveling on I-225, take the 6th Ave exit # 9. Travel east on 6th Ave. Proceed east, approximately 2 1/2 miles, crossing Chambers Road and Buckley Rd to the main gate entrance of Buckley SFB.
From I-25 North -
If you are traveling on I-25 north, take the I-225 exit at exit # 200, then follow the directions for I-225.
From I-25 South -
If you are traveling on I-25 south, take the I-70 exit at exit # 214, then follow the directions for I-70.
*Should you arrive in the Denver Metro area by Greyhound Bus, either get a Regional Transportation District (RTD) bus schedule at the terminal, or walk three blocks to the RTD terminal on Market Street to get information, or take a taxi to Buckley.
Currently, there is no base transportation services on Buckley SFB. Please note that active duty military receive free public transportation (RTD and Light Rail) when presenting an active duty military ID card.
The Buckley Space Force Base Operator can be reached by dialing 720-847-9011, or DSN 312-847-9011. To view a phone listing for Buckley SFB, please visit Buckley Space Force Base > Home and click on the online directory link.
Defense Service Network Dialing Instructions
The DSN is the provider of long-distance communications service for the Department of Defense. Every installation has a special DSN number and the numbers vary by world-wide location. In order to place a call using DSN, the caller must be using a military phone on an installation. Cell phones cannot dial DSN numbers. When dialing a DSN number from a United States installation to another United States installation, it is NOT necessary to dial the DSN 312 area code. When dialing a DSN number to/from overseas locations, the DSN area code must be included. The operator can be reached at commercial 720-847-9011. Please note that long distance charges may be incurred.
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