Air Force Housing at Angels Gate Park

It’s no surprise that the aerospace and defense sector is experiencing significant restructuring and downsizing. The synergistic relationships within the industry still give Southern California a competitive edge. However, our area’s high costs of housing, health care and workers’ compensation, plus a strict regulatory climate, are making it hard for businesses, particularly aerospace operations, to remain competitive.

We at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce believe that we all must do everything possible to keep the Los Angeles Air Force Base/Space and Missile Systems Center here.

Along with its allied facility, the Aerospace Corp., the Los Angeles Air Force Base is responsible for 6,500 direct jobs and some 50,000 additional indirect jobs. The facility generates $3.5 billion in annual Southern California obligations. It accounts for 277 active contracts nationwide worth $7 billion, and it generates business for the aerospace/defense industry, which contributes both directly and indirectly between 1.2 million and 1.4 million jobs to the California economy.

Obviously, this valuable asset is coveted by other communities. The Air Force is considering relocating to Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M., and the best explanation for that is the lack of affordable housing for military families in Southern California.

The proposed siting of 250 additional homes for military families at the Upper Reservation of Ft. MacArthur in San Pedro is considered a viable solution by the Air Force, and therefore critical to the retention of the Los Angeles Air Force Base. We feel that Air Force families should be a welcome part of any community.

In these tough economic times, we must do what we can to retain this extremely important asset to the area’s economy. We simply cannot afford to lose the Los Angeles Air Force Base.

RAY REMY

President

Los Angeles Area

Chamber of Commerce