Lt. Gov. Morales Chairs Military Base Planning Session in Alamogordo

New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales chaired the state Military Base Planning Commission's latest quarterly session Wednesday at Alamogordo's Dudley School, a restored 1901 building that once served as a segregated schoolhouse in the city's historic Chihuahuita neighborhood. The choice of venue carried its own symbolism: a structure that spent decades on the edge of condemnation now hosting a meeting about the long-term viability of the installations that define southern New Mexico's economy and national security role.

The commission gathered to discuss conditions and community relations affecting four of the state's principal military installations: Holloman Air Force Base, home to the 49th Wing and MQ-9 Reaper and F-16 Viper training programs six miles southwest of Alamogordo; Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, which supports 108 mission partners through the 377th Air Base Wing; Cannon Air Force Base near Clovis, an Air Force Special Operations Command hub slated to receive the OA-1K Sky Raider II; and White Sands Missile Range, the largest military installation in the United States at roughly 3,200 square miles, providing testing and range support to all three air bases.

The commission, administratively attached to the state Economic Development Department, convenes quarterly to surface issues at the intersection of military readiness and the civilian communities that surround each installation. Morales has chaired comparable sessions at Kirtland, where he toured security facilities with base leadership in January 2025. Wednesday's Alamogordo meeting extended that pattern southward, closer to the Tularosa Basin installations.

For New Mexico's broader military economy, the stakes of sustained state-level advocacy are considerable. The installations collectively employ thousands of uniformed and civilian personnel, anchor regional housing markets, and depend on surrounding land-use decisions that the commission has the authority to influence, particularly through energy project notification policies tied to encroachment protections around base airspace and test ranges.

Morales, who has announced he will not seek the governorship following the end of his current term, used the Alamogordo session to reinforce the state's commitment to military communities during the final stretch of his tenure. The Dudley School, located at 523 Maryland Avenue and rehabilitated through volunteer efforts and city support in recent years, provided a community-rooted backdrop for a meeting whose outcomes extend well beyond Otero County.