Fort Bliss

Fort Bliss
Part of Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)
El Paso County, Texas and Doña Ana / Otero counties, New Mexico, Southwestern United States
A 1-37AR, 1st Armored Division Abrams tank crew on Fort Bliss' Orogrande Range Camp, 2019
Site information
TypeMilitary base
Controlled by United States (1849–1861)
Confederate States (1861–1862)
United States (1862–present)
FacilitiesBiggs Army Airfield

McGregor Range
Doña Ana Range
North Training Area

South Training Area
Location
Fort Bliss
Location of Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss (the United States)
Coordinates31°48′07″N 106°25′29″W / 31.801847°N 106.424608°W / 31.801847; -106.424608
Site history
Built1849–1893
In use1849–present
Garrison information
Current
commander
Major general Curtis D. Taylor
Past
commanders
John J. Pershing
Garrison 1st Armored Division

15th Sustainment Brigade
402nd Field Artillery Brigade
5th Armored Brigade
32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command
11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade
86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion
Joint Task Force North

German Air Force Command USA/CAN

German Air Force Air Defense Center
OccupantsDCG:
  • Maneuver: Brigadier (UK) Richard Bell
  • Operations: BG Michael J. Simmering
  • Support: COL Alric L. Francis

Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss. It is the largest installation in the United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and second-largest in the Army overall, the largest being the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. Fort Bliss provides the largest contiguous tract (1,500 sq mi or 3,900 km2) of restricted airspace in the Continental United States, used for missile and artillery training and testing, and at 992,000 acres (401,000 ha) has the largest maneuver area, ahead of the National Training Center, which has 642,000 acres (260,000 ha). In August 2025 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) opened a detention facility named Camp East Montana with a capacity of 1,000, eventually 5,000, detainees on Fort Bliss.