Environmentalists Against War

The USS California: A Mighty Engine of War

August 1st, 2020 - by Gar Smith / Environmentalists Against War

The USS California: An Engine of War

Gar Smith / Environmentalists Against War

(July 31, 2020) — There are a lot of impressive weapons of war rooted in the USA but few are mightier — or more unsung — than the USS California. We’re not talking about an aircraft carrier: we’re talking about the state.

The state of California stretches more than 1,000 miles along the western shore of the US and occupies 163,696 square miles of mountains, deserts and forests and is home to a population of more than 40 million citizens.

Although best known for its scenic splendors — from the Golden Gate to Yosemite Valley — and its dynamic leading-edge industries — from Hollywood to Silicon Valley — there is another defining measure of America’s third-largest state that is seldom recognized. California is also one of the world’s most militarized states, containing no less than 32 major military bases and facilities covering nearly 6,000 square miles.

California accounts for nearly eight percent of the country’s 420 domestic military bases. A single base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, occupies more than 1.1 million acres — a stretch of land larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.

China Lake is one of a half-dozen military bases that occupy 3 million acres of California’s Mojave Desert. In the larger California Desert Region (which extends over seven southern counties) the Pentagon controls a total of 40 million acres — approximately 70 percent of the landscape.

California is home to more military installations than any other state, with more than 30 Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and National Guard/Reserve bases located across the state, with most located in Southern California, primarily around the San Diego area. California is host to nearly 190,000 active duty and reserve soldiers — the largest concentration of soldiers, sailors, and pilots in the country, even topping Texas.

Welcome to Fort California

California hosts an unequalled array of naval bases, airfields, training ground, army bases, and missile-launching sites. The state also hosts two of the country’s largest military bases — Camp Pendleton and Fort Irwin.

How much of California’s entrepreneurial genius is intertwined with the expansion and protection of Washington’s Global Empire? California is home to more than 30,000 weapons companies and defense industry firms including Lockheed-Martin, Northrop-Grumman, Raytheon, and General Dynamics. And then there’s Silicon Valley, which (despite its reputation as an incubator of state-of-the-art tech toys), has been tied to the Pentagon through thousands of military contracts and subcontracts.

According to a report by the Governor’s Military Council (yes, there really is such an entity), in 2018, the “Department of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs generated $167.3 billion in economic activity and 795,000 full-time equivalent employment in California.”

According to an investigation by Tech Inquiry, the state’s military contracts have included Google’s work to install Artificial Intelligence on Pentagon drones and Microsoft’s cooperation with the military and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Tech Inquiry’s research revealed that Amazon, Dell, Facebook, Google, HP, IBM, and Microsoft, had quietly signed more than 5,000 agreements with Pentagon and law enforcement agencies.

How Much State Land Is Occupied by Military Bases?

The US military has more than 800 military bases dispersed throughout the world and another 420 scattered across the 50 states. According to the Pentagon’s FY 2014 Base Structure Report (an annually published inventory of the US military’s thousands of domestic and foreign installations, bases, and property assets), the most military-dominated states are found in the southwest.

In terms of sheer size, the region’s largest bases are found in primarily in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and California. On the basis of land claimed by the Pentagon, California tops the charts with 3,838,554 acres — that’s 3.85% of total state land — under military control. The only state that is more militarized than the Golden State is Hawaii, with 5.60% of its island territory occupied by the military.

Bases In The State of California

Channel Islands Air National Guard Station Air Force
Fresno Air National Guard Base Air Force
Los Angeles Air Force
North Highlands Air National Guard Station Air Force
Beale Air Force Base Air Force
Edwards Air Force Base Air Force
Los Angeles Air Force Base Air Force
March Air Force Base Air Force
Moffett Federal Airfield Air Force
Travis Air Force Base Air Force
Vandenberg Air Force Base Air Force
Fort Irwin Army
Military Ocean Terminal Concord Army
Presidio of Monterey Army
Sierra Army Depot Army
AIRSTA Los Angeles Coast Guard
AIRSTA Port Angeles Coast Guard
AIRSTA Sacramento Coast Guard
AIRSTA San Diego Coast Guard
AIRSTA San Francisco Coast Guard
USCG Base Alameda Coast Guard
Camp Pendleton Marines
MCAGCC Twentynine Palms Marines
MCAS Miramar Marines
MCLB Barstow Marines
MCRD San Diego Marines
Mountain Warfare Training Center Marines
Military Ocean Terminal Concord Navy
NAB Coronado Navy
NAF El Centro Navy
NALF San Clemente Island Navy
NAS Lemoore Navy
NAS North Island Navy
NAS Point Mugu Navy
Naval Medical Center San Diego Navy
Naval Postgraduate School Navy
Naval Support Activity Monterey Navy
NAWS China Lake Navy
NB Coronado Navy
NB Point Loma Navy
NB San Diego Navy
NB Ventura County Navy
NCBC Port Hueneme Navy
NOLF San Nicolas Island Navy
NSWC Corona Navy
NWS Seal Beach Navy
Outlying Field Imperial Beach Navy

Army Bases

The 40 California military bases listed below include 9 Army bases, 16 Navy bases, 7 Air Force bases, 2 Coast Guard bases, and no Marine bases.

Camp Haan in Riverside, CA
Camp Haan Army Base is a former US Army installation in Riverside, California. The site is currently home to the Riverside National Cemetery and the General Old Golf Course.

Riverside is the 12th most populated city in California. The area is rich in history, as it is the birthplace of the California citrus industry and home to the “Mission Inn” (the largest Mission Revival Style building in the US).

Camp Parks in Dublin, CA
Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), more commonly referred to as Camp Parks, is a US Army installation that was established in 1943 and is located in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, California. Camp Parks is a partially active base and training site for Reserve forces made up of over 250 military units and over 20,000 Reserve and National Guard forces. In addition to training, Camp Parks also acts as a standby facility in the event of natural disasters or war. On site units at Camp Parks include:
• 91st Division
• 104th Division
• Navy Seabees (US Naval Construction Force)

• Company B, 319th Signal Battalion
• Company B, 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment
• 368th Military Intelligence Battalion
• 191st Army Band

Camp Roberts in Monterey, CA
Located on 42,768 acres in California, Camp Roberts is a National Guard installation that preps troops for training and mobilization at the federal, state and local community levels. Camp Roberts stretches across two counties (San Luis Obispo and Monterey), is operated by the California Army National Guard sitting an hour north of Camp San Luis Obispo. Camp Roberts is also home to the Camp Roberts Historical Museum, California’s biggest Army museum.

Camp San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, CA
Camp San Luis Obispo is located in sunny California and spans 15,433 acres. This installation was established in 1928 and is known as the original home of the California National Guard. Originally, the base was named after Governor Frank Merriam and was called Camp Merriam; however, in 1940, the name was changed to Camp San Luis Obispo. Camp Roberts, another National Guard base, is within an hour of Camp San Luis Obispo.

Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey, CA
Fort Hunter Liggett is located in Monterey County, California. It is 250 miles north of Los Angeles and 150 south of San Francisco. It is the largest installation in the Army Reserve, with more than 165,000 acres of mountains, valleys, rivers, plains, and forests that provide an ideal maneuver area in order to meet today’s rigorous training requirements.

Fort Hunter Liggett’s mission is to maintain and allocate training areas, airspace, facilities and ranges in order to support reserve and active components field maneuvers, live fire exercises, testing, and institutional training.

Fort Irwin in Barstow, CA
Fort Irwin, CA is located in the Mojave Desert and is the mecca of all things training for the United States Army. Each month the National Training Center pushes more than 4,000 Soldiers from other installations through the realistic training necessary to maintain readiness.

Presidio of Monterey
in Monterey, CA

Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, CA
The Sierra Army Depot is an army storage facility carrying vehicles, fuel, first aid supplies, maintenance equipment, and other army supplies. Located in a remote area of northeastern California, the arid great basin climate makes for ideal storage conditions. The dry conditions allow for outdoor storage of many supplies and equipment, which saves space and money. The Sierra Army Depot doesn’t have the traditional community atmosphere of most bases, but when it comes carrying and shipping equipment and supplies, Sierra Army Depot is a global leader.

San Joaquin Depot
in Tracy, CA

Navy Bases

JFTB Los Alamitos
in Los Alamitos, CA

Chocolate Mountain Gunnery Range
in Chocolate Mountain, CA

Military Ocean Terminal Concord
in Concord, CA

NAS Lemoore
in Lemoore, CA

NAS Point Mugu in Poing Mugu, CA
Naval Air Station Point Mugu is a Naval Air Warfare Center in Oxnard, California. Its main purposes are to test weapon systems on both land and sea without interfering with local air traffic or naval vessels. With over 36,000 square miles of sea range, it is a prime location for testing missiles, freefall weapons, and other warfare devices. As of 2009, the number of personnel reached over 2,000 members.

NAF El Centro
in El Centro, CA

NB Coronado
in San Diego, CA

Naval Battalion Center
in Port Hueneme, CA

Naval Hospital Pendleton
in Camp Pendleton, CA

Naval Medical Center San Diego
in San Diego, CA

Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA
Established in 1909, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) began as an institution headed by two Navy instructors and 10 enrolled students. NPS is located in Monterey, California and offers fellowships in addition to master’s, engineering and doctoral degrees.

NAWS China Lake in China Lake, CA
Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake sits about 150 miles outside of Los Angeles. NAWS China Lake ensures the proper maintenance of land and various facilities under the Navy’s research, development, acquisition, testing and evaluation (RDAT&E) umbrella of new weapons technology. NAWS China Lake makes up 85% of the land the Navy utilizes for RDAT&E and covers more than 1 million acres in the western Mojave Desert.

North Island Naval Complex
in San Diego, CA

NS San Diego
in San Diego, CA

NWS Seal Beach
in Seal Beach, CA

NB Point Loma
in San Diego, CA

Air Force Bases

Beale AFB in Marysville, CA Beale Air Force Base (AFB) is a census-designated place (CDP) located on approximately 23,000 acres of California hills, about 40 miles outside of Sacramento. Beale is home to 4,500 servicemen and women and elite aircraft including the U-2 Dragon Lady, the T-38 Talon and the RQ-4 Global Hawk.

Edwards AFB in Edwards, CA
Edwards Air Force Base is located in sunny southern California – 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Edwards AFB spans over 300,800 acres in three counties, making the base 12 square miles larger than the city of Los Angeles. The official mailing address of the base Post Office is 20 W Popson Ave, Edwards Air Force Base, Kern County, California, 93524.

Edwards is the second largest Air Force base in the country, home to over 2,000 people and around 500 families. The Air Force Test Center, which has test flown every aircraft occupied by the Air Force for over 70 years, is situated on the base. The highly classified Air Force facility, well known as “Area 51”, is a detachment of the base in nearby southern Nevada.

Los Angeles AFB
in El Segundo, CA

March ARB
in Riverside, CA

McClellan AFB
in Sacramento, CA

Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA
“Gateway to the Pacific.” Travis Air Force Base (AFB) is located in Fairfield, California on 6,258 acres and falls under the jurisdiction of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), an organization that provides global air mobility to the nation’s armed forces.

Vandenberg AFB in Lompoc, CA
Vandenburg Air Force Base is located in Lompoc, California and has missions primarily of launching satellites into polar orbit as well as testing missiles to understanding how to better preserve boosters. As part of the 30^th Launch Group, it is among the 3^rd largest Air Force Base in the United States.

Located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the base holds about 35 miles of shoreline.

Coast Guard Bases

USCG Base Alameda
in Alameda, CA

TRACEN Petaluma
in Petaluma, CA

Marine Corp Bases

Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA
Camp Pendleton is a Marine Corps Base covering over 125,000 acres in San Diego County, California and is known as “The West Coast’s Premier Expeditionary Training Base.” This installation continues to be the largest employer in northern San Diego, a title it has held for the past 60 years.

MCAS Miramar
in San Diego, CA

MCLB Barstow
in Barstow, CA

MCRD San Diego
in San Diego, CA

Mountain Training Center
in Pickel Meadows, CA

Twentynine Palms
in Twentynine Palms, CA