Rapid City is home to Ellsworth Air Force Base (28th Bomb Wing and the B-1B Lancer aircraft) and the Army National Guard's Camp Rapid, whose combatants are often deployed to fight jihadist terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The US Army's frontier-era Fort Meade is located in nearby Sturgis. Rapid City is keenly aware of its military heritage.
    Be sure to see the South Dakota Air and Space Museum right outside the main gate at Ellsworth.  It's family friendly, free, and one of the best attractions in the Black Hills.  Tours are often led by Maj. Robert Liebman (USAF ret B1-B) and Capt. Kim Morey (USAF ret B-52) and others.  Highlights include 25 warplanes, well-known in  military history, ranging from World War II bombers and transport aircraft to the contemporary B-1B Lancer.  Visitors see a B-25 Mitchell, a B-26 Invader, a B-29 Superfortress, a B-52 Stratofortress, an F-86 Saber, a Minuteman II Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and also experience an F-106 interactive cockpit simulation. 
     The Black Hills National Cemetery is nearby, not far from Fort Meade, though many from the Black Hills who died in combat are buried overseas, including American military cemeteries in Europe and the American military cemeteries in Manilla and Tunis.