Installation Renamings: Thule Air Base Renamed Pituffik Space Base

Thule Air Force Base in Greenland has officially been renamed Pituffik (pronounced bee-doo-FEEK) Space Base, honoring the cultural heritage of the region surrounding the icy, remote installation.

Located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Pituffik Space Base is home to a site for the U.S.’ Ballistic Missile Early Warning System, which provides radar detection of intercontinental ballistic missile launches. It also provides missile warning, space surveillance and space control to North American Aerospace Defense Command and Air Force Space Command.

The base’s new moniker comes from the traditional Greenlandic name for the region surrounding the installation. Accessible only by plane for most of the year because of its harsh, icy weather, Pituffik is also home to an Exchange, which brings home goods, souvenirs, milk, produce, meat, barber service and more to the installation.

“The men and women who serve at Pituffik are not only far from home but far from civilization as we know it,” said General Manager Page Clark. “It’s critical that the Exchange provides them with the items they need to effectively do their jobs, which is core to the U.S.’ overall global security mission in the region.”

Pituffik Space Base is the latest in a series of installations, including Buckley, Patrick, Peterson, Schriever and Vandenberg, to have a Space Force suffix added to its name to reflect its military space mission and the first to receive a new namesake.