FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip: Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico ~ 14 JULY 2026

Serving The Best Troops, Families, And Veterans In The World!! | The Canteen Crew

[laurenmarlowe]

 

 

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Road Trip: Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland. The military and the international airport share the same runways, making ABQ a joint civil-military airport.

Kirtland AFB is the largest installation in Air Force Global Strike Command and sixth largest in the United States Air Force. The base occupies 51,558 acres and employs over 23,000 people, including more than 4,200 active duty and 1,000 Guard, plus 3,200 part-time Reserve personnel.

The 150th Special Operations Wing's mission is to train mission-ready Special Operations and Combat Search And Rescue crews through a Total Force Integration with the 58th Special Operations Wing. The wing also includes the 250th Intelligence Squadron which provides precision Targeting and Geospatial Intelligence to Air Force and Joint Warfighters. The 150th is also responsible for training and equipping more than 900 Wing personnel to support both state and federal missions.

Kirtland is home to the 58th Special Operations Wing (58 SOW), an Air Education and Training Command (AETC) unit that provides formal aircraft type/model/series training. The 58 SOW operates the HC-130J, MC-130J, UH-1N Huey, HH-60G Pave Hawk and CV-22 Osprey aircraft. Headquarters, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center is also located at Kirtland AFB. The 150th Special Operations Wing of the New Mexico Air National Guard, an Air Combat Command (ACC)-gained unit, is also home-based at Kirtland.

The 71st Special Operations Squadron is part of the 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. It operates Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey conducting special operations flying training.

Learn More About Kirtland Air Force Base HERE!!

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TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[PROCON]

Thanks for taking us on tonight’s Road Trip, Lauren!

[lightman]

Happy Monday motoring.

I visited Kirkland AFB in 1984.

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening and thank you radu!

*HUGS*

[laurenmarlowe]

Howdy PROCON, glad you could join us!

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening to you lightman!

[radu]

Howdy, lauren.

Looks like we have similar weather. Lows over both states spinning rain showers over and over. One just came through here.

I hope all’s going well with you.

[luvie]

EEK! Running late. Ping post coming up!

[laurenmarlowe]

Yep, lots of thunder in the middle of the night, woke me up!

And rain for a couple more days, and much cooler. Won’t complain at all.

A busy week this week, and some chores to get done before I can call it a day.

Hope you have a pleasant week!

*HUGS*

[luvie]

~ Road Trip: Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico ~

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[Jet Jaguar]

Thanks lauren!

[radu]

The cooler part is really nice, isn’t it? It’s been cooler here, too, but will start warming up again later in the week.
We have to enjoy it while we can!

[laurenmarlowe]

Well, howdy there JJ, it’s so great to see you!

[laurenmarlowe]

Good evening and thank you luvie!

*HUGS*

[radu]

Howdy, luvie.

Feel better after sleeping in today? And having cooler temps?

It’s been raining on and off here all day. I did manage to make a store run between showers this afternoon, at least.

[rktman]

My dad was stationed there (Sandia) 1963-1967. Spent a lot of time on base. ABQ was fun back then.

[luvie]

Hi, lauren! You’re very welcome. Thank you for a great thread.

Did you have rain today along with the cooler temps? We had a couple of tiny showers. I was kind of disappointed, to say the least.

[GMThrust]

My initial training in the HH3E was at Kirtland and we were billeted on the west side off Gibson. If anyone was there in the 80s, then you would know what I mean when I say the Dancin’ Bears made the west side o’club memorable. I was stationed at the 512th in the 58th SOW from 1992-1996. I was the H60 Flt CC from 94-96. Under different circumstances and timing, I would’ve probably enjoyed my assignment. It did lead to my palace chase to the reserves where I later retired in 2016. The area was absolutely beautiful, and the people I was stationed with were awesome.

[luvie]

Hey there, radu!

Yes, it’s been great. And then I slept too long on my nap, which put me late getting here to post the ping table. LOL! I woke up and thought it was probably about 7:15 or so. I think the cooler temps helped me relax.

Glad you’ve gotten some rain. We got two piddlin’ showers right about the time I woke up and nothing since. Phooey! After all those promises, too.