Jack of Harts

Fort Bliss and Holloman Air Force Base lacked the personnel or the equipment to continue operating at previous levels after the Second Great Depression set in. With no more federal support arriving, and the cities around them suffering their own chaos, their leadership sought a way to remain relevant. The Fort Bliss commander was a capable and thorough administrator, though lacked the finer points of social etiquette. The Holloman commander was a hard charging fighter pilot with more charismatic attitude than organizational aptitude. The one thing each of them shared was a loyalty for America sufficient to keep them from setting aside their oaths to the country, even if their government had fallen. That was enough for them to work together. And they eventually chose to combine their operations, along with White Sands Missile Range, into a new, single consolidated base with a single chain of command. The Army kept things under organizational control. The Air Force became the face of command. And so Joint Base White Sands was born.