Plans made to fight for base

Dave Brooks

National Security is a second priority for Christopher Collins. The

soon-to-be-enrolled Edison High School freshman doesn’t understand

exactly what goes on at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base,

but he knows the place is renown for its high-tech swimming facility.

“I plan to go out for water polo and everyone knows that’s one of

the best places to play,” he said. “Even the national teams train

there.”

In 1998, the National Aquatic Center set up shop at the facility

and brings in scores of high school water polo teams that compete at

the military base.

That connection with the community could be a key factor in

protecting the Los Alamitos base during an upcoming round of federal

base closures. In May, the Pentagon will release its recommendations

regarding the potential closure of 100 of the nation’s 425 military

facilities as part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure rounds.

“We need to take a proactive stance on this issue and posture

ourselves in a way to protect the base,” said Los Alamitos advocate

Bill Orten. “The secret is to never get on the closure list. Once you

get on the list, it’s very difficult to get off.”

Assemblyman Tom Harman said the likelihood of the base closing is

small because of the role it plays in national security. Los Alamitos

employs about 800 full-time service men and women and 4,000

reservists and national guardsmen who use the base for weekend

training. It’s the only facility in Los Angeles and Orange counties

with a military airfield and is the base Air Force One uses when the

president visits California.

The base is also home to a new counterterrorism unit known as the

Chemical, Biological, Radiological Nuclear Explosion Enhanced

Response Force Package. The group is a 120-member task force that

acts as first responders to terrorist attacks, providing search and

rescue, medical aid and decontamination services.

“Our first wave of 22 members must be ready to go when called

within two hours,” said Col. John Bernatz, the team’s director. “The

second part of the team, 25 to 30 members, needs to be on the scene

within four hours. If it’s a major incident, the rest of the team

will be on scene in 24 hours.”

The presence of the team and the bases impact on the community

will likely capture the attention of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who

has formed the California Council on Base Support and Retention to

lobby Washington to protect state military facilities. California has

62 bases that account for 270,000 jobs.

“With the leadership position he is in, I don’t see him allowing

closure of that base,” Harman said. “But we still need to go through

the drill and actively lobby for Los Alamitos.”