The name of the place is "Biggs Army Airfield - East Fort Bliss"…read more
This place has really come a long way, and grown quite a bit as well.
The reason for the name is that this place used to be stand alone. It used to be JUST Biggs Army Airfield. The only thing over there was the Airfield, the NCO Club (The Centennial) and the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy (USASMA). The old bridge right near Chaffee gate was he only way to access Biggs. And Biggs was a ghost town. That was back in the good old days when Ft Bliss was the "Home of the Air Defense Artillery". Along with the 32nd AAMDC, every ADA BDE in the ARMY, too include ADA AIT, was all here at Ft Bliss. Even the Post CMD was a 2 Star Air Defender. The good old days.
Now, in comes 1st Armored Division, "Americas Tank Division". As they roll in and Ft Bliss gets showered with a Division sized element and a divisions worth of money, the ADA gets tossed to the 4-corners of the world, AIT is moved to Ft Sill, and ONLY the 11th Imperial Brigade (ADA) is left at Ft Bliss.
But it's not all bad. A storied and historic division like the 1st Armored, not only brings people, but money. And when you have more people, you gotta grow. And when you have more money, you have the ability to grow. Hence the birth of "East Ft Bliss".
What once was a ghost town with only one way on (that old bridge from main post), now has 5 gates of its own. Connecting everything for Spur 601 to Fred Wilson Rd. East Bliss has 100s of units of brand new housing for all ranks. There's about 3 gas stations with shoppettes over here as well. One of them is even a 24hr shoppette. There's barber shops, chow halls, barracks, motor pools, swimming pools, parks, lodging, housing, a mini PX, state of the art gyms, Soldier activity centers, housing offices, USASMA, churches, 3 chow halls, post finance, post DA Photo shop, 1st AD HQ, RFI facility, SF compound, and so much more. East Bliss is literally an entire other Army Post. And everything is very new, and it good condition. The roads are all new and multi lanes. Access is easier now with 3-4 places of entry. Speed limits are even 45 out on East Bliss, which is much more comforting than the 25-35 max limits all over main post lol. East Bliss is a really nice addition to main post Ft Bliss. But don't knock main post, as it still has all the barracks and chow halls and facilities as it used too. Just it's all noticeably older. However, what IS NOT old on main post, and what keeps main post relevant and BETTER than any instillation I've ever been on in 17 years of service (to include Air Force .. although Kadena Air Base is a close second), is the amazing "Freedom Crossing". As long as Freedom Crossing stands and continues to grow, Ft Bliss will always be the best Army Instillation in the world.
"It's A Great Day To Be A Soldier", Mayne!