The commander of the military base in Los Alamitos spoke to an overflow crowd of members Friday, explaining the complex nature and history of the local installation and an explanation of the complex array of military service units that utilize the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
In his address to the Chamber, Lt. Col. Dan Fox provided a brief history of the base and an overview of the nation’s National Guard system. In addition, Fox gave Chamber members an explanation of the complexity and inner workings of the base and its third-party tenants.
Fox, a native of San Pedro, began his military career as a U.S. Marine, said local businessman John Osborn, who introduced Fox.
After serving in the Marines, Fox went back to college and graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 2001, he said. The decorated military commander then enlisted in the California National Guard as a commissioned infantry officer and later completed the U.S. Army Pathfinder School, said Osborn.
Fox began with a history lesson, of sorts, explaining that, according to Article One of the U.S. Constitution, “Congress has the authority and the responsibility” to maintain a militia.
The U.S. National Guard was conceived long before the U.S. Department of Defense, organized in 1636 in the 13 original colonies, he said.
The National Guard, he said, “is the oldest branch of service” in the country. It has since expanded to all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia.
“This is where it’s going to start to get complicated,” said Fox, before breaking into the complex web of military relationships within which the various branches of service are integrated with each other.
“I am an Army officer, but I am in the National Guard of California,” Fox said. “I am appointed by the President of the United States, in concurrence with the Governor of California, which means I have two commissions,” Fox said.
In short, Fox said the base has both a federal and state mission. We support the Constitution of the United States,” he said, adding that “we support the Constitution of the State of California. There is no conflict,” he said.
In California, said Fox, there is even a California State militia. “They are the reserves for the reserves,” he said, adding that during events and emergencies, the base supports a wide variety of personnel from multiple state and federal branches of service.
During the most recent state emergency during the Los Angeles area wildfires, he said the base quickly became a staging ground for helicopters and other airborne firefighting craft being used during the unprecedented emergency.
Despite the variety among the branches of service, he said during an emergency, there is no conflict and no question about who is in command.
“Sometimes, when you come onto the base during the times when they’ve had an emergency, I will have state guard California, state guard, military police supporting my military police, guys at the gate conducting operations on the base to help us keep things running right. There’s no legality or illegality. They all work for me,” he said.
The JFTB is a sprawling complex that consumes more than 1300 acres which is approximately two square miles or half the available land within the city limits. The massive runway at the former Army Airfield stretches about 6,000 feet. it was established in 1942 during World War II when the Port of Long Beach was a major operation for the U.S. Navy.
Today, while there is a significant military presence on the base and sufficient military infrastructure to handle emergencies, much of the base houses dozens of other civilian operations, from the Medfly program to continuing education for service members.
Fox told the Chamber the JFTB has 94 third-party tenants on the base, including the Army National Guard, the U.S. Army Reserves, the Air National Guard, the Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Intelligence Agency,” and many others.
“We used to have the Federal Aviation Administration. We also used to have the California Office of Emergency Services, the California Office of Emergency Services that has since moved off base,” he added.
“We also have something that’s called the Starbase, which is a STEM program, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Program for high school students that show aptitude for it,” he said.
In addition, since Fox’s arrival as Commander, the base has resumed many cooperative events with the City of Los Alamitos, including “Race on the Base” and an annual Independence Day fireworks display that draws tens of thousands of residents to the base.
When Fox arrived at the base as its new Commander in 2023, he announced that one of his missions was to foster greater cooperation with the communities surrounding the base
Fox has re-established relationships with Los Alamitos and other nearby cities. He told the Chamber that last year, so many people showed up at the base during the Pacific Airshow that he is working on a VIP program to allow even greater access to the base.
“I’m working on the logistics right now where the day before the airshow starts, we’re going to figure out how to get people onto the base so they can see stuff,” Fox said.
Fox also announced that in May, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, the base will be hosting a “Memorial Day Murph, a physical fitness race that is now moving onto the base.”
“We’re doing that in honor of our fallen heroes,” said Fox.
With three decades of service in the military, Fox told the packed Chamber group that he joined the National Guard more than three decades ago, giving them a list of the prestigious posts and military programs he’s had the opportunity to pursue.
“My military journey has led to a lot of different experiences, all culminating with my speaking here today, which I’m honored to do. It’s very, very nice,” he said.
Fox then turned his thoughts to the future, saying he has worked hard to fix the infrastructure and keep the base moving forward because when it’s gone there is no coming back.
He thanked the City of Los Alamitos for helping the base obtain funds to fix the airfield.
“Anyway, I highlight the airfield because that is a strategic asset, all right, that is, it has capability. It has uses for the Department of Defense and as I’ve told local congressmen, that if the airfield goes away, there is no getting it back,” he said.
“So that is my strategic communication through the California Military Department, up to the Department of Defense and the
National Command Authority is to maintain the occupation of this base.”
“As long as we have it, I can always improve it. But if we lose it, it’s gone, and especially if we lose it to something that has temporary benefit at best, then that is a problem,” the commander noted.