Category: California

There are 32 military bases in California (CA) including Air Force, Army, Coat Guard, Marine and Navy bases. Please open the website to see the full list of California military bases.

California is home to a number of important military bases that play a critical role in the defense of the United States. These installations are responsible for supporting military operations across the globe and training the men and women who serve in the armed forces.

One of the largest military bases in California is Naval Base San Diego, located in the southern part of the state. The base is home to a variety of naval vessels, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, and amphibious assault ships. It also provides support to a number of other naval facilities in the region.

Another major military installation in California is Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, located just north of San Diego. The base is the largest Marine Corps installation on the West Coast and is home to over 42,000 active duty and reserve Marines, as well as their families. Camp Pendleton is responsible for providing training and support to Marines preparing for deployment.

Further north, the Travis Air Force Base is located in Fairfield and serves as a major transportation hub for the United States military. The base is home to the largest air mobility wing in the Air Force and provides airlift and aerial refueling support for military operations around the world.

The Vandenberg Space Force Base is another important military installation in California on the central coast. The base is responsible for the launch and testing of military satellites, as well as missile defense systems. It also supports a variety of other space-related operations for the United States military.

In addition to these major military bases, California is also home to a number of smaller installations, including the Naval Air Station Lemoore, which is home to the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet squadrons. The China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station is another important facility that provides research, development, and testing of weapons and systems for the Navy.

Overall, California’s military bases play a critical role in the defense of the United States and the support of military operations worldwide. They provide training, transportation, and logistical support for the men and women who serve in the armed forces and help to maintain the readiness of the US military.

  • Naval Base Point Loma

    Point Loma Facts

    • Location: Point Loma, San Diego, California
    • Website:
      Visit Point Loma Website ›
    • Phone: (619) 553-1011
    • Longitude:
      -117.239137
    • Latitude:
      32.683633
    • DSN:
      N/A

    The background involving Point Loma started many thousands of years in the past while primitive ancestors along with Indigenous Peoples lived on the region. Ancient places have already been dated to dating back to seven thousand years back. Today’s reputation of Point Loma starts around September 1542, the moment Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (a Colonial navigator inside the services for Spain) arrived right here and also discovered the nearby region for six days and nights. Cabrillo elevated the banner associated with Spain and also called the main harbor San Miguel Gulf.

    Naval Base Point Loma Monument

    Naval Base Point Loma From sky

    Sebastian Vizcaino, a real Spanish dealer which worked among South America and also the Orient, frequented the particular gulf in the fall of 1602. This individual re-named that San Diego honoring San Diego de Alcala, a Franciscan place sibling. Their information set up the actual SUBASE region being the place belonging to the initial Roman Catholic group to become commemorated as to what will now be the actual Form of California. Some sort of monument ahead of the current day Church in SUBASE remembers that particular group.

    The Spanish chose to create a fortification in the community for the reason that the peninsula protected the sole admission towards the particular Gulf. Finished in 1797, the actual fortification was developed with adobe and also has been equipped with some sort of nine-pound rule. The actual fortification has been referred to as Fortification Guijarros (Spanish meant for “cobblestones”) for the reason that the place ended up being engrossed in sleek rocks.

    Naval Base Point Loma Soldiers parade

    NB Point Loma View from coast

    In the future, English-speaking ocean adventurers utilized these particular rocks just as ballast with regards to their cruising ships – as a consequence the actual title “Ballast Point.” Either Fort Guijarros along with Ballast Point happen to be California heritage points of interest. During the month of February 1852 Leader Fillmore put aside the lower part of Point Loma (around 1400 miles) intended for army reasons.

  • Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center (MWTC)

    Mountain Warfare Training Center Facts

    • Location: North of Bridgeport, California
    • Website:
      Visit MWTC Website ›
    • Phone: (760) 932-1400
    • Longitude:
      -119.07006
    • Latitude:
      38.28916
    • DSN:
      839-1431

    The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center (MCMWTC) is among the Corps best distant as well as cut off post. This MCMWTC performs official colleges for people and also battalion education in summer season and also winter season hill procedures. Working out stresses progression of each person along with team mountain abilities along with focusing on improving general fight capacity. Marine Corps in the Facility also are involved with assessing cold temperature clothes, gear, individual efficiency, tough landscape automobiles, and also building doctrine and ideas to improve the Corps’ capability to battle and also succeed during high altitude plus winter conditions.

    mountain warfare practice in snow

    mountain warfare training center training at wood

    This Winter Mountain Operations Course was designed to teach forces during the winter alpinism abilities needed for the winter season battle procedures. Challenging, the actual program is carried out inside a naturally harmful surroundings having a focus on security, private success, cold temperature bivouacs, path choice, over-the-snow flexibility strategies, along with influx security and even consciousness. Individuals may employ battalion offensive / protecting techniques in domain workouts symbolizing real-world situations. This Winter Mountain Operations Course additionally instructs personnel preparing as well as battle support assistance needs. 4 dynamic obligation battalions are generally educated every winter season (The month of January – The month of April), having every program 4 weeks in total. One reserve battalion finishes the fourteen days Winter Mountain Operations program each different December.

    Confused soldier at mountain warfare training

    Contingency satellite applications consist of Sniper Sustainment Instruction, Search Skier, Weaponry Supplier Center Expansion Program, Hill Communications System, Mountain Motor Transport Program, Mountain Professional Program, and also Recon Sustainment Instruction. The particular summer time Mountain peak Operations Program focuses on team competence regarding the particular mountain climbing necessary skills essential for effective missions in a very tremendous mountain setting. Performed inside an austere and also unknown situation, individuals shall learn off-road security, army mountain climbing, set string installs, off-road routing, rappelling, and also preparing / managing platoon motion around tough landscape.

  • Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)

    Naval Postgraduate School Facts

    • Location: Monterey, California
    • Website:
      Visit NPS Website ›
    • Phone: (831) 656-2441
    • Longitude:
      -121.873425
    • Latitude:
      36.596639
    • DSN:
      878-2441

    The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is undoubtedly a certified investigation college managed by the United States Of America Navy. Situated in Monterey, California, this allows each master’s diplomas and also doctorate certifications. The college offers investigation fellowship possibilities within the postdoctoral degree via the National Study Council investigation associate ship system.

    Naval Postgraduate Full View

    These NPS college inhabitants are mainly active-duty officials coming from most divisions from the United States Army, even though U.S. Federal government ordinary people along with people from international militaries may also matriculate beneath a selection of applications. A lot of the college happens to be ordinary people. The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) acts an identical objective towards the United States Air Force. The actual U.S. Military doesn’t have an equivalent college; Military officials research on the Naval Postgraduate College or simply AFIT.

    Beneath a current combined contract involving the Air Force and also Navy, and also codified through the year 2005 Base Realignment and Closing Commission, AFIT and also the Naval Postgraduate School have got realigned their own educational applications in order to decrease replication, and also each colleges are going to be beneath the oversight of an usual oversight board. To illustrate the actual combination, Navy officials are usually brought to discover aeronautical design in AFIT, although Air Force officials discover meteorology on the Naval Postgraduate College.

    Naval Postgraduate School Main Entrance

    Naval Postgraduate School Graduates at Front Entrance

    Before becoming bought through the actual United States Authorities, the college’s grounds have been managed just as the Del Monte Resort. A few NPS structures and the exotic yard date since that period. In June nine, 1909, Admin for the actual Navy George von L. Meyer closed Common Order Number twenty-seven, creating a college involving maritime design in Annapolis, Maryland. In October thirty-one, 1912, Meyer closed Navy General Order Number 233 that re-named the college the particular Postgraduate Division of the USA Naval School.

  • Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach

    NWS Seal Beach Facts

    Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station is the place in the West Coast area where the U.S. Navy weapons and ammunitions are stored, loaded and maintained. The station also has three detachments in, Fallbrook, San Diego and Concord.

    NWS Seal Beach Front Sign

    Boat placed for public demonstration at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach

    The Naval Weapons Station occupies 21 square kilometer area with 128 ammunition magazines and 230 buildings in 589,299 square feet of storage space. The station consists of road that is 80 miles in length and large 56 miles of railroad line to load the ammunitions which is then stacked into the ships using the cranes to rise up 90 tons of weight of loads. This station is off limits to the civilians because of the hazardous environment of the storage.

    There is a clean up project called Installation Rehabilitation Program where they also restore the damaged sites. The Restoration Advisory Board is made up people from the surrounding areas with 73 places needing the total clean up.  Before the rehabilitation started, studies were made and found out that 46 of this place have no need for the clean up.   There were five facilities that remained and they are still using and were removed from the Installation Program list. There were two underground tanks that were transferred to other departments while the seven sites completed the clean up and the other 13 sites were on the clean up process. There was remaining 13 sites range from landfill to an explosive burning ground.

    Boat Parked in NWS Seal Beach

    Helicopter lands on boat near Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach

    The Seal Beach Station serves as the commemorative place during the World War II 3000 heroes who gave their lives for the country while aboard the 52 underwater craft who were lost during the war. The naval weapon station is located on the north of Interstate 405 and State Route 22, on the west is Boulevard of Seal Beach, the Pacific Ocean on the southwest, Bolsa Chica and Bolsa Chica Road on the east.

  • NAS North Island

    NAS North Island Facts

    • Location: Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay, California
    • Website:
      Visit NAS North Island Website ›
    • Phone: (619) 545-8167
    • Longitude:
      -117.199917
    • Latitude:
      32.700933
    • DSN:
      N/A

    Naval Air Station North Island or simply NAS North Island can be found at the northern edge in the Coronado Peninsula in San Diego Gulf and it is the actual house port of countless planes providers of the USA Navy. It’s section of the biggest aerospace-industrial structure in the USA Navy, Naval Base Coronado around San Diego District, California. The Commanding Official for NAS North Island (aka NASNI) is in addition the actual Instructing Official, Naval Base Coronado. Therefore, this individual instructions or simply supervises Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Outlying Area Imperial Seaside, Gold Follicle Instruction Building, Off-road Instruction Center LaPosta, Warner Springs Instruction Region, and also Naval Additional Arriving Center, San Clemente Isle.

    NAS North Island Celebration

    NASNI, having just the instructions inside the city of San Diego, supports the town of Coronado coming from the actual entry to San Diego Gulf towards the Mexican edge. NAS North Island is home to twenty three aircraft squadrons and also eighty extra renter instructions along with routines, 1 of which, the actual Naval Aircraft Site, would be the biggest aerospace company inside San Diego. NAS North Island additionally works 2 additional airfields inside the Lower California area. The first is Naval Auxiliary Landing Center (NALF) San Clemente Isle, situated around seventy kilometers North West from San Diego inside the Channel Isles. The second one is the Outlying Field (OLF) Imperial Seaside. Previously a private naval airplane section, OLF Imperial Seaside is found in the town of Imperial Seaside, around the United States-Mexico boundary, ten kilometers southern from NAS North Island.

    Military Boat at North Island NAS

    NAVY NORTH ISLAND NAVAL AIR STATION From Plane

    Air stop has been previously referred to as Ream Area during fifties as well as sixties. NAS North Island looks like a little town in the center topic and the procedures. It’s got unique law enforcement as well as fire divisions, along with sophisticated army protection channels. It’s got big factory-type structures that consist of the particular Naval Aircraft Site, hiring 3,300 ordinary people, and its particular commissary, Navy Exchange, along with property parts.

  • Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS – MCRD) San Diego

    MCRD San Diego Facts

    Marine Corps Recruit Depot (known as MCRD) San Diego is known as a U S Marine Corps government assembly inside San Diego, California. It is situated around San Diego Gulf along the Highway five, next to San Diego Airport Terminal and also the ex-Naval Instruction Facility San Diego. MCRD San Diego’s primary objective is actually the preliminary instruction involving enrolled men recruits residing western from the Mississippi Stream. More than twenty one thousand employees happen to be educated every year. The actual Depot is also home for the Marine Corps’ Recruiter College along with Western Enrolling Area’s Routine Teachers College.

    mcrd San Diego from air

    MCCS Logo

    The platform’s primary objective is actually to educate fresh U S Marine Corps employees, particularly men enrolled coming from western of the Mississippi Stream, as well as coming from various locations eastern of the stream, for instance Wisconsin, the state of Michigan, the Chicago city region as well as New Orleans. Just about all females are usually prepared in Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island. Enroll practicing for people enrolled in the USA Marine Corps, incorporates a 13 weeks time practice when the particular recruit gets blocked from the private society plus needs to adjust to the Marine Corps way of life.

    usmc mccs soldier formation

    Solders gaining knowledge at Marine Corps Recruit Depot

    In the course of instruction, routine teachers educate employees in a very wide selection of topics such as weaponry instruction, Marine Corps Karate Plan, individual hygiene as well as sanitation, near order routine, and also Marine Corps background. The education stresses health and fitness, plus employees need to achieve the minimum criterion involving physical fitness to be able to move on through completing some sort of Bodily Physical fitness Check. Recruits also need to fulfill minimal fight-driven diving requirements, get certified in gun marksmanship using the M16A4 support weapon, and also complete the fifty four-hour simulated battle exercising called “The Crucible”. In contrast to instruction in Parris Island, recruits need to abandon the particular site in order to perform domain instruction.

  • McClellan Air Force Base

    McClellan AFB Facts

    • Location: Northeast of Sacramento, California
    • Website:
      Visit McClellan Website ›
    • Longitude:
      -121.400556
    • Latitude:
      38.667778
    • DSN:
      N/A

    McClellan Air force base occupies 3, 73 acres of land ten miles northeast of Sacramento and is home to more than 2, 080 activity duties personal, their families and 7,511 departments of defense civilian employees. The keywords at McClellan are maintenance and logistics. The Air logistics Center has responsibility as system manager for aircraft such as the A-10, the F/EF-111, and the F-117A. The base began life in 1973 as the Sacramento Air Depot but was renamed later that year in honor of Maj. Hezekiah McClellan, a pioneer in the charting of Alaskan air routes and aeronautical experiments, which were killed while, flight testing an aircraft near Centerville, Ohio, in a crash on 25 may 1936.

    Military plane on McClellan AFB

    There are over 600 family housing units at California McClellan located and guest housing are available to both officers and enlisted personnel for short term occupancy. Dependent school age children attend classes in one of the 17 school districts operated in Sacramento Country. The base offers a child care center with the capacity for 140 children.

    The education services office offers on base college courses from such institutions as Embry riddle Aeronautical University and University of ldaho. The USAF clinic at McClellan offers outpatient services to activity duty personnel retirees, and dependents, with referrals to the David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base. Other facilities include a base exchange, a commissary, and a package store. Excellent officers and NCO clubs are also available.View from sky to McClellan Base

    Military Planes at McClellan  AFBThe California McClellan AFB is situated at the intersection of Interstate 80 and Business 80, in the northeast section of Sacramento. The climate in this part of California is temperate, with low humidity most of the year. Annual rainfall averages less than eighteen inches, with most of it falling from December through February. About 1.5 million people live in the Sacramento area.

  • Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar

    Mcas Miramar Facts

    • Location: San Diego, California
    • Website:
      Visit Mcas Miramar Website ›
    • Phone: (858) 577-1011
    • Longitude:
      -117.14653
    • Latitude:
      32.870072
    • DSN:
      267-1011

    Even though both the Army and the Navy has installed facilities on North Island in 1912, California Mcas Miramar´s military bases were not planted till 1917, when the Army brought the California MCAS Miramar region and developed Camp Kearny, named for General, Stephen Kearny, whose battalion of the West had seized California during the Mexican American War. In the 1930´s the region was base for army air ships. In the early 1940´s the primary airplane runways were built.  California Mcas Miramar found fresh air as a Navy Master Jet base in the 50´s, but actually came into its own during the war against Vietnam.Huge Marine corps sign at Miramar base

    The Navy required a camp to train pilots in fleet air defense and in dog fighting. In ´69 the top gun school was installed (and made famous by the ´85 movie of the same name). While lots of military stations divide more than one camp Pendleton’s training facilities, none of them tally its broad range. Camp Pendleton has a population of approximately forty thousand sailors and Mariners and offers a variety of recreational activities and services.

    California Mcas Miramar currently promotes its new bimonthly tour plan for all San Diego region community members. The tour plan is completely out of charge and opens to people and takes place on the third and first Thursdays of each month, operational and weather commitments permitting. It functions from nine in the morning and twelve in the evening.Military Machinery - Osprey at MCAS Miramar

    View from sky to Air Station MiramarNevertheless, it will not accept tours in October because of the yearly MCAS Miramar Air show. Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in Miramar is augmenting on to eight acre plot at the Army air base at Mirmar. Exhibitions include more than twenty five genuine combat helicopters and plane on public display. The good moment to explore this museum is on Open Cockpit Day when public can see the inner part of some of these great crafts.

  • March Joint Air reserve base

    March Joint Facts

    • Location: River Side County, California
    • Website:
      Visit March Joint Website ›
    • Phone: (951) 655-1110
    • Longitude:
      -117.24821
    • Latitude:
      33.889675
    • DSN:
      447-1110

    California March Joint Air reserve base is situated in River Side County, California amid the cities of Moreno valley and Riverside. It is the headquarters of the 452d Air Mobility Wing and the Air Force Reserve Command´s fourth Air force, the biggest air mobility section of the fourth Air force. Together with various wings of the Air Force Reserve Command helping Pacific Air forces, Air combat command and Air Mobility command, California March Air force base was an important Air command post during the Cold war.Planes launch at March Joint

    California March is one of the primeval airfields ran by the Military of the United States, being implemented as Alessandro Flying Training field In Feb 1918. The base was later renamed California March field the following month for second Lt. Peyton C March, Jr, who was killed in an air crash in Texas. Currently California March Unit is the AF reserve´s 425d Air mobility wing, which additionally to its operational mission of flying, also offers host base, help for different tenant wings.

    In this region, San Bernardino International Airport, on land of the former Norton Air force base, opened for passenger traf in 2008. In riverside, the March Air reserve base has opened civilian cargo service, and expanded use of the base´s long runways in under consideration. Additionally, a privately announced commercial cargo facility, called the southern California Logistics Airport, is operating at victor Ville in the high desert area of the inland Empire. Entrepreneur Dougall Agan has won support from the Department of Transportation, which sees great future volumes of Asian trade moving through a corridor from Los Angeles to the Inland Empire and on the rest of the United States.Military Plane at March Joint Air reserve base

    Military Plane Hits Speed of sound near the March Joint AFBCalifornia March civilian flight activities include a California department of forestry air unit that utilizes this post on an intermittent basis as well as a permanently installed US customs and Boarder protection.

  • Los Angeles Air force base

    Los Angeles AFB Facts

    Colorado and California also discovered themselves challenging for the advanced military space facilities at California´s Los Angeles AFB. California Los Angeles air force base is not a conventional AFB with aircraft and runways, but a high technology fortification that manages over six billion dollar per year in defense deals for the military space field, and is the center of the Aerospace Corporation, a government supported research firm.Los Angeles Air force base main buildings

    California Los Angeles air force base is place close to the Los Angeles international Airport on prime real estate, and thus it was costly for the Air force to keep up. Los Angles AFB is also the center to many civilian workers many of them in highly paid technical fields. So Californian House of Representatives as well as Los Angeles officials strive hard to keep the base commander and the base, which was predicted to keep out of the fight, joined it, stating about the worth of Air force workforce and Aerospace corporation interaction.

    Nevertheless, Colorado officials believe strongly that closure of California Los Angeles AFB could bring all those high paying contracts to Colorado, and they fought for them. The Air force commander of that service´s space command fought for the center, along with civic leaders in Colorado springs, who argued that the facilities at Los Angeles air force base would merge nicely with the Air Force´s Peterson air for base, the Air force academy, at a host of other technology firms located in that city. In the end, BRAC left Los Angeles air force base off the closure list, but the fight between the two states indicated how valuable the prize was.Los Angeles Air force base accommodation

    Soldiers marching on Los Angeles Air force base The air base offers logistics, security, chaplain, contracting, communications, civil engineering, medical and quality of life services impacting eight four units and more than 204,000 active civilian, duty and retired personal in the Los Angeles area.

  • Marine Corps Logistics Base (MCLB) Barstow

    Mclb Barstow Facts

    • Location: The city of Barstow, California
    • Website:
      Visit Mclb Barstow Website ›
    • Phone: (760) 577-6430
    • Longitude:
      -116.955814
    • Latitude:
      34.867975
    • DSN:
      282-6444

    The city of Barstow lies on the banks of the Mojave River and has many recreational attractions, including ten parks, swimming and municipal golf. Nearby places of interest include Calico Ghost Town, ten miles north of Barstow, and the san Bernardinao Mountains, a hour´s drive away, which afford skiing, fishing, bunting and boating. Las Vegas is only three hours north of Barstow. The Afton and Rainbow Basin and Owl canyons are also interesting places to visit. The Calico Dig, 15 mils north of Barstow and six miles east of Calico Ghost Town, is an unusual park site arranged around an archeological excavation developed by the NGS and the SBC museum. California Mclb Barstow is an isolated station.Barstow Marine Corps Logistics view from sky

    Mclb Barstow overview Therefore, recreation services and facilities are morale and support programs and very important. Recreation opportunities include a club system, two swimming pools, a nine hole golf course, three tennis courts, a gym, a blowing alley, a skeet and trap range, stables, two indoor racquetball courts, two lighted outdoor handball courts, one lighted foot ball field, two lighted baseball fields, an auto and crafts hobby shop, and a 50, 000 volume library open seven days a week. Medical care is provided to active duty and retired personnel and their families by the base clinic. Dental care is available to active duty personnel; retired personnel are seen on a time available basis only. A commissary, a seven day store, Marine Crops exchange and other activities are offered at California MCLB Barstow.Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow entrance sing

    Marine Corps Logistics Base Military transport machinery California MCLB Barstow is situated a few mile seast of Barstow, in the Mojave Desert. To the north are fort Irwin and the China Lake navel Weapons center; Edwards Air Force Base lies immediately to the west along Interstate 15; and Twenty nine palms Marine Corps Base in to the east. The gateway to Death Valley National Monument lies about 100 miles from the base. The area is warm and dry.

  • Vandenberg Air Force Base

    Vandenberg Air Force Base Facts

    • Location: Santa Barbara County, California, USA
    • Website:
      Visit Vandenberg Website ›
    • Phone: (805) 606-1110
    • Longitude:
      -120.586452
    • Latitude:
      34.737381
    • DSN:
      276-1110

    Vandenberg Air Force Base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General Hoyt S.Vandenberg. This is the home to the 30th Space Wing, 14th Air Force, and the United States military installation with a spaceport in Santa Barbara County, California, USA Vandenberg  Air Force Base manages satellite launches in the west coast and also responsible for testing of international ballistic missiles.

    Vandenberg Air Force Base Rocket Before LaunchVandenberg Air Force Base Rocket Launch with strong fire

    This was the selected site for the launching and landing site of the West Coast Space Shuttle but never materialized. This is often called as the America’s silent launch site because the rockets can fly directly to the south without passing any land until it reaches Antarctica. This method offers no threat to the land in cases when the rocket falls back during unsuccessful launches. At present, Vandenberg has the Space Launch Complex 6 (SLC-6) wamodified extensively for various shuttle operations.

    There were more modifications and constructions that were done in Vandenberg Air Force Base which costs the country around $4 billion. They added two new flame ducts and the Mobile Space Tower was changed for the shuttle’s Solid Rocket Boosters. They also made improvements in the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen storage tanks, payload change out room; payload preparation room, sound suppression room, new launch tower with escape system, and the new Shuttle Assembly Building were added to the original complex.

    Vandenberg Air Force Base Rocket Launch at night

    Vandenberg provides support to more than 18,000 population compose of military and their family members, government contractors, and civilian employees.   Most of the employees of Vandenberg lives outside the air base in the nearby northern Santa Barbara county communities of Lompoc, Vandenberg Village, Orcutt, Santa Maria and Sta Ynez. There are a few employees who travel as far as Santa Barbara and Isla Vista to the far north of the five cities near San Luis Olispo.

  • Travis Air Force Base

    Travis Air Force Base

    • Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California
    • Website:
      Visit Travis AFB Website ›
    • Phone: (707) 424-2798
    • Longitude:
      -121.945839
    • Latitude:
      38.258806
    • DSN:
      837-1110

    Travis AFB is located at San Francisco Bay Area was constructed in June 1942 under the name of Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base with the main intention to station the medium attack bombers at the air base. There was a time when the outline of the deck of the air carriers was painted in the runway thus, helping the new Navy pilots flying the F6F Hellcats and SB2C Helldivers in their landing and takeoff practices before they were assigned to fly the Pacific Fleet.

    Travis Air Force Base Planes

    It was renamed Travis AFB in honor of Brigadier General Robert F. Travis who was killed in an airplane crash five minutes after take off  along with 18 others. Aboard the aircraft were the 5000 pounds of high explosives which exploded 20 minutes after the crash.  Because of the accessibility of the air base to railway, highway, water transportation and the fact that it is near San Francisco makes the base a good prospect to be the key aerial port and supply transfer point for the Pacific War Zone.

    Also known as the Gateway to the Pacific, this air base is managed by Air Mobility Command and at present the base for the 60th Air Mobility Wing and the 349th Air Mobility Wing. It was on 1997 that the 60 AMW discard its C-141 aircraft which were transferred to other Air Force units, AFRC and the air National Guard wings, leaving the C-5 and KC-10 aircrafts. Last August 2006, C-17 Globemaster III was added as the third type of aircraft in the 60 Air Mobility Wing and the 349 Air Mobility Wing.

    Aerial Travis Air Force Base From Sky
    Plane at Travis Air Force Base

    The air base manages most of the cargo and passenger traffic than any other military air bases in the country.  It gives assistance to various humanitarian airlift operations in the country and around the world. Today, Travis Air Force Base has 7000 active USAF military personnel, 4,000 reserve personnel and 3,770 civilians.

  • Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma

    Tracen Petaluma Training Center Facts

    • Location: Northern California counties of Sonoma and Marin
    • Website:
      Visit Tracen Petaluma Website ›
    • Phone: (707) 765-7320
    • Longitude:
      -122.783084
    • Latitude:
      38.257571
    • DSN:
      N/A

    Tracen Petaluma Training Center has 10 schools with 50 different courses catering to 4000 students yearly.  They also provide training to international students and to all the Coast Guard military and civilian employees.  This also offers training for the novice in the different enlisted career fields and the management training in leadership and the Total Quality Management for all the personnel in all levels. The Training Center has courses for maritime law enforcement, computer operation, emergency medical technicians and management training.

    CGTC Petaluma Solar Panels Banner
    CGTC Petaluma Solar Panels

    Petaluma bought Two Rock Ranch whose secret mission is to listen to the Japanese communications but become outdated when the Coast Guard converted it as a training ground during the Vietnam War.  The USCG relieved the Army and took command of the Station. After the take over, they renamed it as Coast Guard Training Center, Petaluma. They changed the named to Petaluma because Two Rocks does not appear in the maps which is necessary for the Coast Guard members   to locate the base when travelling.  Right after the training center was opened, many Special Schools opened like schools for training Coast Guard cooks, and then Storekeeper school opened, the after 6 months the Radioman school opened. Less than a year the base is full of students.

    The Training Center comprises 800 acres of land with 219 buildings with 129 family units, a chapel, clinic, fire department and a small police department with complete training facilities in their over 200,000 square feet.

    CGTC Petaluma Buildings
    Coast Guard Training Center Petaluma Interior

    Petaluma is the second largest town in the southernmost part of Sonoma County. Petaluma rapidly grows into an agricultural, trade and industrial state during the 1918 period. Today, it is still an agricultural county and the downtown was renovated and shopping centers and cafes are around the corner where the antique weekend shoppers gather.  Petaluma has been part of movies since then like the “Basic Instinct”, “Peggy Sue Got Married” and “American Graffitti.

  • Naval Air Station Lemoore

    Lemoore NAS Facts

    • Location: Kings County and Fresno County, California
    • Website:
      Visit Lemoore Website ›
    • Phone: (559) 998-0100
    • Longitude:
      -119.92851
    • Latitude:
      36.322852
    • DSN:
      949-0100

    NAS Lemoore is a Navy fighter pilot training facility that often works with a similar NAS in Nevada. The Navy has termed that Lemoore is their newest NAS they have since it was commissioned in the early 60s.Although construction started in 1958 the main reason for choosing the location was because of all the great qualities it had. The weather in the area is considered the perfect flying weather, it was rather inexpensive to purchase the land area and best of all was the open air space.

    There is almost 30,000 acres split into 3 basic areas, operations, administration, and housing. There is over 6,000 people employed on NAS Lemoore, including a helicopter Search and Rescue team that spends most of its time on nearby Mount Whitney and in the recreational areas of the southern Sierras rescuing the hikers and backpackers that get lost in their search for adventure. There are on average about 32 rescues and medivac missions flown per year. The search and rescue is also of assistance to other regional search and rescue teams as well as the local authorities.

    Naval Air Station Lemoore Front Gate
    Naval Air Station Lemoore Military Plane
    Naval Air Station Lemoore F-117 plane

    Farmers who own or rent the land in the area have an agreement that they will not build any permanent living quarters in the area as well as have no structure that exceeds a height limit of 25 feet because of the aircrews that are using the air space above can not be interfered with, or in the case of living space the jets and such make what is considered too much noise for safe living conditions.

    While NAS Lemoore does have a 16 bed community hospital it does not have an emergency room. The do have a Wellness Center that offers a lot of quality programs and a Maternal Infant Unit that is centered on the family environment.

  • Naval Air Facility El Centro

    Naval Air Facility El Centro Facts

    • Location: California’s Imperial Valley
    • Website:
      Visit El Centro Website ›
    • Phone: (760) 339-2220
    • Longitude:
      -115.676311
    • Latitude:
      32.824367
    • DSN:
      658-2220

    El Centro is a Naval Air Facility, it is located in California’s Imperial Valley, and this location is just 117 miles east of the major city of San Diego. It was first commissioned on May 1, 1946 as a Naval Air Station. Before it became a Naval Air Facility it was the base for the Marine Corps Air Station. For the first 35 years El Centro was committed to aeronautical escape system testing but through the years they have expanded their use of the facility. Currently this particular facilities main purpose is to help naval units train realistically in the areas of weaponry, bombing, carrier landings, and air combat.

    El Centro’s location unique, though popular, is known by every military service airman and plays an important part in not only their initial training but also their refresher courses. El Centro Naval Air Facility’s specific climate, its vast dessert terrain setting, limited non-military air traffic, and its own gunnery and bomb ranges makes it different from other U.S Naval air facilities.

    The latter qualities make El Centro Naval Air Facility the perfect place to practice aviation combat skills as well as air- to -air weaponry and training in bombing and electronic warfare.  El Centro’s nearly isolated location is an important resource that the facility uses to its benefit, because of such unique qualities that the two other Navy owned air facilities lack El Centro is well used and almost always busy. El Centro is a home to the infamous Blue Angels during the winters.

    El Centro NAF Front Monument
    El Centro Military Plane Samples
    Naval Air Facility El Centro Plane Show Off

    El Centro is also the facility used for the Blue Angels kick-off air show that takes place in March of every year. The Blue Angels start practicing their training in profound flight operations as well as maintenance. Such an opportunity allows the Blue Angels to perfect their skills as a united unit.