Anonymous
Source: Coast Guard
The Coast Guard helicopter crews flying out of rented space at the naval base at Point Mugu will finally get a permanent home as ground broke Tuesday for their new facility.
The $53 million Coast Guard Air Station Ventura is scheduled to include a 48,000 square-foot hangar and a 12,200 square-foot administration and berthing facility at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu.
Four MH-65 Dolphin helicopters and 82 personnel are slated to be stationed at the air station when it opens for operations in August 2023.
“We’re excited to break ground to re-establish a permanent air station,” said Vice Adm. Michael F. McAllister, commander U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. “The new air station in Ventura will enhance critical mission capabilities, allowing us to better serve this critical area.”
“We’re excited to break ground to re-establish a permanent air station,” said Vice Adm. Michael F. McAllister, commander U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. “The new air station in Ventura will enhance critical mission capabilities, allowing us to better serve this critical area.”
Debra Chinn, a member of the Coast Guard Facility Design and Construction Center, Joe Bissaillon, the Architect and Project Manager for Woolpert, Rear Adm. Carola List, the Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Engineering and Logistics, Vice Adm. Michael McAllister, the Coast Guard Pacific Area commander, Sam Abutaleb, the Vice President of Whiting-Turner Construction, Rear Adm. Brian Penoyer, District 11 commander, Capt. Thomas Cooper, Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco commanding officer, and Capt. Kirk Lagerquist, the chief staff officers for Naval Base Ventura County, participate in a ground breaking ceremony for the Coast Guard Air Station Ventura, July 27, 2021. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Brahm)
Previously, the Coast Guard operated Air Station Los Angeles out of the Los Angeles International Airport for more than five decades until it lost its lease in May 2016. The Coast Guard officially closed the air station and shifted aviation operations to a Forward Operating Base (FOB) located at Naval Base Ventura County supported by Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco. The Point Mugu FOB operates out of a leased hangar facility and leased berthing space from the Navy. Currently, 13 permanent service members and approximately 11 rotating crewmembers from San Francisco fly two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters out of Point Mugu.
Coast Guard operations are scheduled to shift from the FOB to the new facilities of Air Station Ventura upon the facility’s completion.
The air station’s area of responsibility covers 350 nautical miles and stretches from Dana Point to Morro Bay, including the Channel Islands. Missions include 24/7 emergency response, search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, law enforcement, and marine and waterways conservation and protection.
