Los Alamitos military base, still a formidable O.C. presence, now has a new commander
The Los Alamitos base sits on 1,400 acres near the ocean, a sprawling remainder of Orange County’s military past.
It was once joined by the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, which was able to handle the largest aircraft in the U.S. military inventory, but El Toro closed in 1999 and continues transitioning into the Orange County Great Park.
The air station in Tustin was a major center for Marine Corps helicopter aviation and testing of radar installations on the Pacific Coast, but it also closed in 1999.
There’s been talk about converting the Tustin site to a regional park or a new stadium for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Meanwhile, restaurants and retail and residential construction have sprouted around the former base, where two huge helicopter hangars can still catch the eye of passing motorists.
The Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach continues providing weapons storage and loading, maintenance and assessment support to ships of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
But with the otherwise dwindling military presence in California, the significance of the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base has been greatly increased, particularly because of its airfield.
The Los Alamitos Army Airfield is the only military airfield in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County area. It is one of the busiest Army airfields in the western United States and can accommodate nearly every military and civilian aircraft.
Air Force One landed at there in 2014 when President Obama flew in to deliver the UC Irvine commencement address.
The Joint Forces Training Base, originally the Naval Air Station Los Alamitos, opened as a naval air base in 1942 and functioned as a location for fighter pilot training during World War II. It transferred to the Army in 1973, and in 2000 the name was changed to Joint Forces to reflect its multiple uses.
Los Alamitos remains a strategic location with its training facilities, equipment and other resources. It’s also an assembly area for disaster-relief operations.
Over 700 military, civilian and contract personnel are assigned to Los Alamitos full-time to support training and operations, and almost 3,000 traditional Guardsmen and reservists conduct training at the base as well.
With satellite communications to command emergency operations in the Southern California region, the Joint Forces Training Base serves as the host to the California Office of Emergency Services. It was used as the assembly area for the Los Angeles riots of 1992, the Northridge earthquake in 1994 and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
It’s also used year-round by local, state and federal agencies for emergency operation exercises, seminars, conferences and events.
But it has many other non-military uses. It’s the training location for the U.S. women’s water polo team and the home of the federal- and state-funded Mediterranean Fruit Fly Exclusion Program, which works to prevent fruit fly infestation in Southern California.
The USA Water Polo National Training Center is located on the base because of its outdoor, 50-meter pool. And because Los Alamitos base officials care about civic interaction, it opens the heated pool to the neighbors all year long for lap swimming, swim lessons, adult fitness classes and youth programs.
Reddicks said he is proud of the base’s involvement with the surrounding communities and various civic organizations, which includes hosting the annual Race on the Base 1K/5K/10K and reverse triathlon and the Wings, Wheels and Rotors Expo, both of which draw participants from the city of Los Alamitos and other areas. It also hosts periodic open houses and Fourth of July fireworks.
The 900-seat Liberty Theatre was used for USO shows and movie showings during World War II and today offers space for special performances and large military briefings.
“This base is like our own city,” said Tom Lasser, a retired commander of the Los Alamitos airfield who still works part time doing public outreach. “It’s a military oasis.”
And now the base has a new commander, Brig. Gen. Nathaniel S. Reddicks, at your service.
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Multiple duties
Reddicks, 61, assumed command of the Joint Forces Training Base in April. In his role, he is responsible for directing military training, monitoring environmental compliance and overseeing the many functions of the base, including managing its diverse tenants.
Reddicks also serves as the assistant adjutant general for the California Air National Guard, overseeing four wings and a combat communications group totaling nearly 5,000 military and civilian personnel at 10 locations.
Reddicks is an anomaly. He is the first commander of the base from the California Air National Guard. The role historically has been an Army position.
Because Los Alamitos is feeling its 74 years, Reddicks has made renovation his top priority.
One recent Monday morning, the new commander was sitting at a conference table, a steady gaze adding to his air of authority. He was explaining his next strategy for the military grounds.
And talking about fairy tales.
“The base is a bit of a Cinderella,” said Reddicks. “You clean it up and take it to the ball.”
He was referring to how to adequately maintain the base’s buildings and infrastructure.
Outside his office, a serviceman was repairing an inactive fire alarm.
“It’s the all-time mission support job,” said Reddicks, dressed in fatigues. “There is something always going on here. The day starts off with madness, ends for 12 hours, and it begins again.”
Last year, a new headquarters building was completed, and before that a sturdy new fence was installed to replace the deteriorated original separating the federal property from the neighboring homes.
The latest task will be renovating an original building that was a mix of barracks and offices. The Army Reserve learned of the vacant, yet deteriorating, building and wants the space for one of its operations.
It’s up to Reddicks to spearhead that construction.
As he stood, preparing to show a visitor what he’s up against, he put on his camouflage cap.
Military staff members removed their hats as he walked out the door.
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Helping at-risk youths
“Look at this building,” Reddicks said as he stepped onto the 74-year-old building’s rotting floor. Paint is chipped off the wall. Part of the ceiling is caving in. “It’s got good bones but no heart and no teeth. We got to kill all the critters in here. I think we need HGTV.”
It’ll probably take two years to complete the project, but Reddicks can already envision the results.
His mission of revitalizing the base also extends to improving the lives of children in need of self-discipline and life skills. He’s talking about the goals of Sunburst Youth Academy, a military-style program that helps 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts get an education. It is housed in a once-delapidated building that is now state-of-the-art.
The program is operated through a cooperative agreement between the National Guard Bureau and the state of California, meaning that it is funded by federal and state dollars to provide a tuition-free education to eligible youths. The investment in youths has a return of 166% in social benefits, literature from the base claims.
It further says that about 75% of graduates earn their high school diploma or a certificate equivalent, or they return to regular high school.
There’s a need for the academy, Reddicks said, explaining that the program saves an average of $422 million in juvenile correction each year, based on an annual cost of $17,520 per academy enrollee versus an annual cost of $73,000 per youth in a correction facility.
“I’d rather spend money on reaching out to save more kids than build more prisons,” Reddicks says. “If I had more base, I’d have more programs.”
Meanwhile, the base is also home to Columbia College - Los Alamitos, established in 1997 to serve military personnel, family members and other working adults. Students can choose from associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, all accredited.
The private, nonprofit Columbia College, which has 34 other campuses, was founded in 1851. Officials say the school educates more than 30,000 students across the country each year.
Reddicks says he wasn’t surprised when he was called for his next duty.
Reddicks, who lives in Upland with his wife, grew up around the military. His father was a sergeant in the Air Force, so the family moved a lot.
In 1978, after college, Reddicks enlisted in the California National Guard’s Channel Islands-based 146th Airlift Wing, and in 1980 he was commissioned as an officer. He served as commander of the 146th Airlift Wing Mission Support Group and the 163rd Reconnaissance Wing Mission Support Group.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, he trained commanders and key logistics and staff officers for the newly forming Iraqi Armed Forces.
“Because of his expertise and base management, he’s got the vision,” said Col. Richard Lalor, a member of the base’s public affairs office.
Lalor said the base wouldn’t exist without a passionate leader at the helm.
“We wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t love it,” Lalor added. “He’s very loyal and supportive of his staff.”
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