Posted on Jan 7, 2016
MCAS Tustin... California's Other Closed and Contaminated Marine Base - Salem-News.Com
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We've written at length about the contamination of MCAS El Toro in Southern California, the now-closed Marine Corps air base that was a center of military defense for both Orange County and Los Angeles for half a century, however we haven't devoted very much space to a second nearby base, MCAS Tustin.
Both bases closed permanently in 1999 and the Third Air Wing Marines were shipped to Miramar, the Navy's 'Fighter Town, USA' made famous by the movie Top Gun. The Navy in turn, along with the fighter weapons school, was sent to train for naval missions in Fallon, Nevada - in the middle of the desert.
Strange story I know; it is bizarre that Marines were able to upseat the Navy and take over their prominent base that way, but there was not enough room and it was a very expensive operation as it turned out.
Just before El Toro closed, the helicopters that had traditionally been based at MCAS Tustin LTA (Lighter Than Air) - the WWII blimp base a few miles from El Toro, were moved to El Toro.
Both bases closed permanently in 1999 and the Third Air Wing Marines were shipped to Miramar, the Navy's 'Fighter Town, USA' made famous by the movie Top Gun. The Navy in turn, along with the fighter weapons school, was sent to train for naval missions in Fallon, Nevada - in the middle of the desert.
Strange story I know; it is bizarre that Marines were able to upseat the Navy and take over their prominent base that way, but there was not enough room and it was a very expensive operation as it turned out.
Just before El Toro closed, the helicopters that had traditionally been based at MCAS Tustin LTA (Lighter Than Air) - the WWII blimp base a few miles from El Toro, were moved to El Toro.
MCAS Tustin... California's Other Closed and Contaminated Marine Base - Salem-News.Com
Posted from salem-news.com
State of California
Marines
What Would You Do
Posted 9 y ago
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I miss the Marines at El Toro. I used to play a game of identifying helicopters by sound as theyt flew over my home as they thump-thumped their way between El Toro and Pendleton almost every day. I enjoyed watching the jet fights coming home to roost every week day about 1500 hours (we surmised that Marine aviators weren't allowed out after dark). Then there were the annual air shows. We could sit on our roof and almost touch the underbellies (or cockpits) of the Blue Angels as they roared over our homes in Mission Viejo. Then there were my neighbors, a friendly bunch of Marines (active duty and retired) who flew their flags every holiday. I just had to purchase an Army flag and join the festivities (the Marines responded by pelting me with good natured barbs). Sadly, they were sitting on prime real estate (and there was the corridor from the coast to El Toro that had to be kept free of development so that the Marines wouldn't accidentally bomb anyone when they returned with live munitions hanging from their wings and bellies. Ah, those were the days. I'm not happy but the land speculators certainly are...
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