EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story referred to National Guard personnel incorrectly.
AURORA | Buckley Space Force Base officials say the economic impact of the Aurora base is linked to a sizable $2.4 billion in area economic activity, although it’s about $200 million less than last year.
The economic impact update and a catalog of honors were part of the annual State of The Base event, held for the 25th time Thursday by the Aurora Rotary Club and Aurora Chamber.
It’s the first base economic review since Trump officials announced earlier this year the Space Force national headquarters will moving out of Colorado Springs.
Despite that news, Buckley leaders still reported strong local programs and plans to continue building strong economic impact for the future.
“In 2025 Buckley contributed over 2.4 billion dollars to our local economy — strengthening not only national security, but the community where we shop, eat and our children enjoy extra curriculars,” Chief Master Sgt. Ben Johnson said during the presentation to about 100 people at Aurora city hall.
Former base commander Rob Devall opened the event stressing the importance of businesses in the area and how they benefit from base activity. He specifically called out to businesses to embrace April as the Month of the Military Child and light their storefronts purple as a sign of solidarity.
The annual event aims to stress the importance of the base’s economic impact in and near Aurora and boost a community connection to the base. Sponsors say the event is a unique collaboration between the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and military base leadership.
The base is home to more than 13,000 personnel, including about 3,000 active-duty members, 4,000 National Guard and reservists, and thousands of civilians and contractors.
Part of the 2025 news included a contract with Xcel Energy to construct a new electrical power substation to provide “energy redundancy” and capacity to the base, officials said. Announced as part of a 20-year master plan, Johnson said the contract, facilitated by the National Reconnaissance Office, will lead to a new substation that will be capable of providing 100 megawatts of power to the base.
This is part of “several major construction projects that significantly boost Buckley’s economic impact and foster partnerships with local businesses,” Johnson said. In conjunction, base leaders revealed that a project to advance the base’s generator capabilities to 2 megawatts is about 80% complete.
Plans for the new substation were unveiled alongside groundbreaking for a new artificial intelligence data center on the base. Base leaders cited a desire to be prepared for the future, which included integrating these future technologies for advanced computing and data analysis.
The new data center will add to the capacity of the Aerospace Data Facility Colorado, which is also undergoing new ‘recapitalization’ efforts and will include several new construction projects.
Throughout the address, Col. Eamon Murray and Johnson discussed training missions aimed at preparing base personnel and troops for emergency situations. Many of the training sessions were done in collaboration with other bases, local law enforcement and other partners.
Having completed training at Buckley in December to detect and defeat ‘unmanned aerial systems,’ base troops and personnel moved on to complete training with partners at the Cape Cod Space Force base earlier this year.
Moving forward this year, base troops and personnel plan to conduct training in North Dakota at the Cavalier Space Force Station before carrying out their final planned training in the four-part series, called “Operation Pacific Furry.” The project is scheduled to take place in June and has the stated goal of aligning the base with indo-paycom strategic priorities.
In talking about the purpose of Operation Pacific Furry, Murray said, “the nature of modern warfare has blurred the line between overseas conflicts and the security of the American homeland.”
The base is not only important locally, but globally, officials said.
“Buckley is a power projection platform affecting operations in all domains around the globe,” Murray said, referring to Buckley’s global impact.
Other goals include continuing collaboration with Navy partners, as well as the continuing recapitalization of the 140th Wing’s aircraft fleet that had been mentioned the year prior.
Devall talked later about the base and its relationship to the city.
“They are the largest economic impact entity in this region,” said Devall. He stressed that businesses don’t operate in isolation of the base, but rather enjoy the benefits of the jobs it creates, allowing businesses to capture that income.
“When we talk about lineage and legacy, we fall in love with this community. This community is underappreciated,” Devall said, “because of the diversity of Aurora and everything Aurora is.”
File Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
Units and operations on Buckley Space Force Base
Aerospace Data Facility
A joint intelligence ground station that collects, processes, and distributes critical data to U.S. and allied defense, intelligence, and civil agencies.
566th Intelligence Squadron
Provides technical expertise and information support to enable intelligence operations at the Aerospace Data Facility.
140th Wing
An Air National Guard unit that conducts fighter operations and homeland air defense missions, including air sovereignty.
Colorado Army National Guard
A statewide force of citizen-soldiers that supports national defense and responds to domestic emergencies and disasters. Trains aviation units, maintains aircraft, and provides rapid-response air support for military and state missions. Oversees artillery units that provide powerful rocket and missile fire support on the battlefield.
743rd Military Intelligence Battalion
Delivers advanced intelligence processing and analysis to support U.S. military and national-level operations worldwide.
Combat Logistics Battalion 453
Provides logistics and supply support to Marine Corps operations.
Quebec Battery, 5th Battalion, 14th Marines
An artillery unit that delivers fire support to assist ground forces in combat.
Company A, Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion
Supplies trained Marines for cryptologic and intelligence missions, especially at the Aerospace Data Facility.
Bravo Company, Intelligence Support Battalion
Deploys intelligence personnel to support joint and national operations during crises or war.
U.S. Coast Guard Cryptologic Unit
Conducts maritime intelligence analysis and cryptologic training to support Coast Guard and national operations.
Navy Information Operations Command
Performs cyber, signals intelligence, and information warfare missions in support of Navy and joint operations.