This year, the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base is celebrating its 70th year of service to the U.S. and just as much as a part of the Los Alamitos community.
This year, the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base is celebrating its 70th year of service to the U.S. and just as much as a part of the Los Alamitos community.
In the 1940s, the Navy had begun to outgrow its flight facility in Long Beach and another location was sought to help alleviate the overcrowding. As it turned out, there was some space in some bean fields around an unincorporated area known as Los Alamitos. By January 1941, the space had been purchased and construction was underway on the flight operations equipment and structures for the Navy.
Over the years, the base has housed a vast number of military installations and units and has remained in use, despite cutbacks, because it has proven to be a valuable piece of this country’s military plan.
“Los Alamitos is the oldest military base in Orange County. Being the last remaining military airfield in the greater LA/Orange County areas, plus the disaster support area for Southern California means the base and airfield will be around for a long time,” retired base commander, Lt. Colonel Tom Lasser said.
The base has morphed and changed over the years, but has remained a consistent part of the community and identity of the Los Alamitos area. Though not officially commissioned until 1942, the Los Alamitos area has military tradition going back even further.
In May of 1938, Los Alamitos received its first class of cadets for primary flight training. In 1939, a second squadron came on board. On June 1 it physically moved from the Long Beach Municipal Airport to its new location, according to the historical archives of the JFTB.
For a decade, thus its primary mission had been to train officers and men of the Naval Reserve. On 15 August 1943, it became an Operational Training Base for training of fleet units and was classified as a naval air station. In addition to providing training, it serviced aircraft from the Battle Fleet, including carrier air groups from the Lexington, Saratoga, and old Langley.
The legacy of the JFTB has been established and it appears to have a long future here in Los Alamitos.
Part 2
The JFTB today
Since its inception, the Joint Forces Training Base has been a primary military installation, considered important for its location and runway, in particular.
But over the years, the JFTB has evolved into an epicenter for many civilian programs as well. In addition to the 79th Sustainment Support Command and the 40th Infantry Division (mechanized), the JFTB houses the California Emergency Management Agency and the Sunburst Youth Academy. In addition, an Olympic-sized pool that not only provides the City of Los Alamitos with a place to host an aquatics program, but is now the home of the Olympic Gold-medal winning U.S.A. Women’s Water Polo team, who train there yearly.
Despite the heroics of many who have been stationed or deployed from the JFTB to protect the United States, the Sunburst Youth Academy could be considered one of its biggest success stories in that it has given area youths on the verge of falling into a troubled life, a second chance.
The voluntary program puts teens into a military-style setting to learn about discipline and hard work, while getting caught up on their formal education. The Sunburst Youth Academy has eight primary goals for its students.
Academic Excellence
Students who qualify are able to earn a High School Diploma, GED, or CHSPE. Classroom studies at the Academy are designed to enhance the cadet’s education skills and instill a desire to continue self-improvement.
Life Coping Skills
Included in this area are classes and workshops on substance abuse, anger management, stress management, team building skills, and budgeting.
Job Skills
Cadets develop the basic skills necessary to conduct job searches as their position in the community changes. Cadets learn to complete a written resume, fill out employment applications and how to conduct themselves during an interview.
Health and Hygiene
It is important that each cadet understand the positive correlation between good health and hygiene habits and life-long mental, physical and emotional well-being.
Responsible Citizenship
This component helps each cadet to develop a better understanding of the forces that work to make a community strong and supportive of its members, as well as the forces that work to disintegrate a community.
Service to the Community
In the Core Component of Service to the Community, cadets develop an understanding of the benefits gained through volunteering at community projects and agencies.
Leadership/Followership
Each cadet gains the skills necessary to be a good follower, a valued member of society, and gains exposure to the traits of good leaders so they may be prepared to lead when the opportunity arrives.
Physical Fitness
Cadets participate in a program of physical fitness training, which encourages a lifelong commitment to physical, mental and emotional well-being. Cadets must show improvement during the 22-week residential program.
“Individuals who’ve participated in the Youth Challenge program are more likely to attend college courses, to be employed, and earn higher wages,” Major Joel Armstrong, Director of the Academy, said.
The Southern Region of the the California Emergency Management Agency is now base out of the JFTB. This week, members of the Cal EMA were deployed to assist at the earthquakes in Imperial County.
In September 2011, Cal EMA established a working group to develop statewide guidelines for coordination with multiple agencies throughout California. The purpose was to develop a methodology for prioritizing disaster incidents and allocating resources as efficiently as possible. The following are the agencies overall goals:
• Develop all-hazards guidance for use statewide.
• Develop a companion procedure for use in the State Operations Center.
• Ensure consistency with existing state and federal guidance and programs.
According to the JFTB, the Los Alamitos Army Airfield is one of the most active Department of Defense aviation operations in the Continental United States. Its control tower is one of the busiest in Southern California, managing five instrument approach procedures including radar.
Los Alamitos has been called into duty for many operations and deployments, including Gulf War activities, Panama and Bosnia. The JFTB was used as the assembly area for the Los Angeles riots, the Northridge earthquake and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Today the Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) is home to the headquarters of the 63rd Regional Support Command (RSC) and to the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry division (Mechanized). Various other National Guard and Army Reserve units are also stationed at the base.
More than 800 military, civilian and contract personnel are assigned to Los Alamitos on a full-time basis to support training, operations and services, according to the JFTB. More than 2000 traditional guardsmen and reservists conduct training at the JFTB as well.
Los Al is a strategic asset on the West Coast and a vital spot in Southern California.
In July of 2000 Los Alamitos Armed Force Reserve Center changed its name to Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Center.