The commander of the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos has reportedly been scurrying since Friday evening, having been called away from a military dinner after the Trump Administration decided to federalize troops and send them into the streets of Los Angeles.
Lieutenant Colonel Daniel R. Fox, JFTB Commander, issued a brief statement acknowledging the base activation, leaving the remainder of the military information to come from a military public affairs spokesperson.
“The Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos currently serves as the staging base for forces that have been called up for current contingencies in Southern California. We appreciate the support we continue to receive from our local community,” said Fox in the statement.
Beth R. Smith, Colonel, Public Affairs, U.S.Army North (Fifth Army) issued a press release to provide basic information regarding the ongoing deployments.
The press release from Peterson Space Force in Colorado, stated the orders as issued: “by direction of Secretary of Defense and in coordination with U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM), approximately 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers have been placed under federal command and control in a Title 10 status to support the protection of federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.
As USNORTHCOM’s land component command, U.S. Army North deployed Task Force 51, with a two-star general, as the ground command and control element over the Title 10 forces. At this time, there are approximately 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed at the following locations in the greater Los Angeles area: Los Angeles, Paramount, and Compton, California.
Additionally, approximately 500 Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, are in a prepared-to-deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts.”
The Marines have also been put on active deployment to the evolving protests.
According to the information released by Col. Smith, that “as of June 9, there are approximately 1700 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a California National Guard unit in a Title 10 status, in the greater Los Angeles Area.”
“The activation of the Marines is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,” she said.
Further, Smith’s statement indicated “Task Force 51 is U.S. Army North’s Contingency Command Post, which provides a rapidly deployable capability to partner with civil authorities and DoD entities in response to a Homeland Defense and Homeland Security Operations. It is commanded by Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman.”
“Task Force 51 is comprised of approximately 2,100 National Guard soldiers in a Title 10 status and 700 active-duty Marines. Task Force 51 forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force,” the statement said.
From a local perspective, the local deployment could very well impact the upcoming July 3 fireworks show, which is traditionally held at the base.“Yes, this deployment could impact things,” said Col. Fox in an email message to ENE. “No decision has been made yet but we have informed the city of Los Alamitos.”
ENE has reached out to the city for comment.
Editor’s note: Since this story appeared in ENE, there have been updates. The Dept. of Defense has announced an additional contingent of 2,000 California National Guard troops and additional Marines set to deployed. The file photos were used since the base is currently in lock down, with a large contingent of troops on base preparing for deployment to the streets of L.A. It was not clear if Marines mentioned in the story would be utilizing the base.