Nike Classrooms

Nike Classrooms. . The long brick and frame buildings in this area were constructed during the 1930s as stables for the First Cavalry Division. During World War II the stables were used as automotive shops, and searchlight and radar labs., After the war, Fort Bliss began its transformation into the Army's only antiaircraft artillery and guided missile center. Guided missile testing began at the nearby White Sands Proving Grounds. The Antiaircraft Artillery and Guided Missile School, predecessor to today's U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery School, began training military personnel. By the early 1950s, the Army's first guided antiaircraft missile, Nike Ajax, was nearing operational status. The buildings in the area were converted into classrooms and guided missile laboratories for the men who would form Nike battalions. Selected buildings were surrounded by high fences and a watchtower stood between Building 614 and 615., Nike training began at Fort Bliss in 1953. As a final exercise, student missilemen accompanied their units to Fort Bliss firing ranges to conduct a live missile launch before deploying around the country. By 1958, nearly 200 Nike missile batteries were protecting the skies around major cities in the United States.