The only remaining military base in Southern California was thrust back in the spotlight by Super Bowl LVI as the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos played host to major media, prestigious fighter jets and military celebrities throughout Super Bowl week.
“It’s really an honor for us,” said Col. Richard Lalor, Public Affairs spokesman for the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
Not only did the base host some of America’s most prestigious fighter planes, but the base saw a host of television satellite trucks and even played host to the Super Bowl military Color Guard.
On Saturday, the “best of the best” military men and women from the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard came out to the base to visit with the cadets of the Sunburst Academy.
The day before they walked out onto the global stage in front of hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world, they were at at JFTB giving inspiration to young men and women who have a need for hope.
The entire spectacle, said Lalor, was both uplifting and a shot in the arm for the base.
“The aircraft flew in early in the week and there’s been a variety of activities that have been going on at Los Alamitos Army Airfield,” said Lalor.
Photo by Col. Richard Lalor
The five aircraft were part of the U.S. Air Force’s so-called Heritage the P-51 Mustang, A-10C Thunderbolt II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor and F-35 A Lightning II. The P-51 Mustang was first flown during World War II and led the formation.
Military officials say this year’s military fly-over was in honor of the Air Force’s 75th Anniversary and featured top fighters from World War II ‘til the present.
Approximately 30 minutes before the military color guard marched with their precision the flags of the various U.S. services onto the Super Bowl field Sunday afternoon, the vintage aircraft began roaring down the JFTB runway. One by one they floated effortlessly into the sky, with the F-22 Raptor and the F-35A producing an unmistakable roar.
In fact, residents reported hearing the military aircraft flying over the area as the vintage aircraft maneuvered into formation and timed their appearance over SoFi Stadium, not appearing over the stadium until the designated moment, which occurred at the end of U.S. national anthem.
The crowd roared when the formation of U.S. heritage flight flew over the 70,000 plus attending the big game.
Photo by Richard Lalor.
Just a day earlier, the military color guard visited the Sunburst Academy on the base.
Jeremy Kern, a public affairs officer for the Military District of Washington, who accompanied the group, said each officer in the military color guard was the “best of the best.”
He said each one of them spend hours and hours on their training, from perfecting body movements to wearing meticulous uniforms.
“When they walk out onto a stage like the Super Bowl, in front of billions of people, they are representing every citizen in the United States and abroad. They are the best of the best and they are really proud of what they do,” said Kern.
Color guard members are stationed at military units in the National Capital Region, including U.S. Marine Corps Ceremonial and Guard Company, Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.; U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, Navy District Washington, Washington, D.C.; U.S. Coast Guard Ceremonial Honor Guard, Telecommunications Information Systems Command Center, Alexandria, Virginia; U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C.; the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia.
Kern said each of the representatives in the elite Color Guard are top members of each respective service’s own color guards.
The Super Bowl Color Guard included officers from the Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, Marines, Army and Navy, each carrying the flags of each service and one leader carrying the flag of the United States.
Although sometimes hard to see, onlookers should notice that atop each service flag are dozens of smaller ‘streamers’ representing every major campaign involving the U.S. military since the founding of the republic.
“My palms are already sweaty thinking about tomorrow [the Super Bowl appearance],” said SSCC Cody Royster, U.S. Army, who leads the group. “As many as I’ve done…I’ve been in front of the President, the Secretary of Defense, all of them, and I’m still always a bit nervous,” he said.
But, he said, that’s why they train incessantly to remain “perfect. If you’re complacent, that’s when we’re going to mess up. It’s all about a performance edge,” he said.
“I’ve worked with a lot of color guards,” Lalor told the service members, “and their goal is to emulate what you guys do.”
Following a briefing by Sgt. First Class Edward Chang, the elite military color guard walked outside to speak to the current Sunburst Academy class of 105 cadets. They broke into small groups, some teaching them how to hold the flags, how to properly kick their heels, while the drummers explained to another group how drums, before mass communications were invented, informed soldiers on a battlefield when to retreat or to make other commands that otherwise would not have been possible by voice alone.
Courtesy photo
Destiny Campos, a cadet from Downey, said “this experience means a lot to me because I came from a military family, and they used to do things like color guards and drill teams. So getting to do things like what my family went through hits my heart a bit different.”
Said Lalor, it all added up to a fulfilling event for JFTB.
“Having the media basically showcasing the Air Force, and the fact that they’ve brought the aircraft here to Los Alamitos allows us to showcase the base and all the different things that we do here throughout the year,” said Lalor.
“It’s not just training soldiers and preparing for, you know, emergency response support,” the Colonel said, noting how many diverse missions they take part in regularly on the base.
“It’s been an interesting week. It’s been exciting. And bringing the color guard here also was just, you know, the ‘creme de la crème,’ so I would say it’s been a really, really good weekend.”