Caribou Air Force Station
Caribou Air Force Station was the first of five, United States Air Force, Air Material Command (AMC) installations that were constructed during the period of 1951 – 1953. Each of the five installations was built specifically to provide operational storage of the nuclear stockpile, and to provide a specified number of weapons to their adjacent Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases. The first four installations were built and occupied by 1953. The fifth installation, although completed in 1953, would not be utilized until 1955. The first installation, code named “Site Easy” was originally known as the “North River Depot”. It was constructed between 1951-1952, and operations began in 1952. Funds were provided in 1951 to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP), for the planning and construction of an ordnance storage site in the vicinity of a new Strategic Air Command Base. The AFSWP was directed to utilize the services of the Corps of Engineers, Department of Army, for planning and construction, and was made responsible for monitoring such work, and for operational security measures during these phases. The original directive to the AFSWP stipulated that upon completion of construction the installation would be turned over to Headquarters, Air Material Command for operational responsibilities.
Randolph Air Force Base
The Military Affairs Committee of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce quickly took the forefront in the search for an airfield location, which had to be suited to the airfield design, rather than the other way around as commonly done. A site east on San Antonio was chosen in May 1927 but rejected for those reasons. A second site near Schertz, Texas, was acquired and offered to the Air Corps on 31 December 1927. The land had to have clear title, be donated to the government, and have no restrictions as to use. Legal processes delayed the acceptance of the donated property until 16 August 1928. In the meantime, after a dispute with a blue ribbon committee of senior Air Corps officers who did not favor the circular design, Clark's layout was approved, also on 16 August, and construction began on 1 November 1927. It was "the largest construction project undertaken by the Army, up to that time, with the exception of the Panama Canal."