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http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/george.htm |
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Southern California Logistics Airport [SCLA]
/ George Air Force Base (GAFB)
George Air Force Base (GAFB) covers 5,339 acres which includes
two runways (9,116 and 10,050 feet), 6.3 million square feet of
ramp space and associated facilities; 1,641 units of housing; 14
dormitory buildings with 1,400 bed capacity; a hospital with a
dental clinic; and various office and industrial structures.
George Air Force Base (AFB) is located in Victorville,
California, in the Mojave Desert approximately 90 miles northeast
of Los Angeles.
George AFB, originally called the Victorville Army Airfield, was
constructed between 1941 and 1943 as a flight training school.
After World War II, the base was placed on standby status and
used for surplus aircraft storage. The base was reopened in 1950
under the command of the newly created U.S. Air Force and renamed
George Air Force Base. Flight training remained the primary
mission of this base throughout its history and a number of
bomber, glider, single engine, twin engine, and jet fighter
aircrafts were flown there. George AFB was a major training
facility for the Air Force's F-4 Phantom and was the home of the
35th Tactical Fighter Wing.
In 1988, George AFB was scheduled in the first round of base
closures passed by Congress under the Base Realignment and
Closure program. The base was officially decommissioned in
December 1992. In 1993, President Clinton announced a "Five Part
Plan" to speed economic recovery in communities where military
bases were to be closed. One part of this plan called for
improving public participation in the base's environmental
cleanup program. George AFB was among a number of installations
where environmental cleanup was placed on a "fast track" so that
base property could be quickly transferred to the community for
reuse.
The Southern California International Airport (SCIA) opened in
October 1994, when the Air Force executed a lease for 2,300
acres. The airport was granted an FAA Part 139 certificate in
February 1995 to serve scheduled aircraft carrying over 30
passengers.
The 1996 Defense Appropriations bill included a provision
requiring the Army to use SCIA, as the interim airhead for the
National Training Center at Fort Irwin until such time as a
Barstow-Daggett airport is available to serve as a permanent
airhead. Flights began on April 18, 1996. About 60,000 troops a
year are passing through SCIA, on commercial 747 aircraft, C-5
cargo planes and helicopters. The Army is the airport's anchor
tenant, providing annual fees and rental income of about $5
million. The airport authority hired a fixed base operator and
has already installed navigational aids.
The FY2002 military spending bill earmarks $1.3 million to allow
the US Army to continue using Southern California Logistics
Airport [SCLA] to transport troops en route to training exercises
at Fort Irwin. The airport has proven to be by far the most
efficient and safest location for travel to and from the Army's
National Training Center for the 60,000 troops who rotate through
each year. Company D of the 158th Aviation Regiment is a general
support aviation company that moved in under a five-year contract
the Army signed with SCLA and the city of Victorville. The unit
is part of the 244th Aviation Brigade of Fort Sheridan, IL.
The federal government is responsible for helping the Victor
Valley recover from the closure of George Air Force Base in 1988.
The conversion of the former George Air Force Base to Southern
California Logistics Airport [SCLA] will provide major
corporations with logistics needs with a global intermodal
logistics gateway to the Western United States. Located near
Interstate 15 in California’s Victor Valley, the 5,000 acre
complete intermodal business complex is approximately 50 miles
northeast of Los Angeles County and 40 minutes north of Ontario
Airport (ONT).
In July 2000 the Department of Commerce awarded the Southern
California Logistics Airport at the former George Air Force Base
the designation of Foreign Trade Zone, Congressman Jerry Lewis
said Friday. The designation will make it much easier for the
Victor Valley Economic Development Authority to convince
international carriers to use the airport as a base for shipping
foreign products to Southern California and beyond
In July 2000 the Department of Transportation approved a $4.9
million grant for the Southern California Logistics Airport to
extend its main runway from 10,050 feet to 13,050 feet to
accommodate international jet transports. The airport at the
former George Air Force Base was included in 2000 on the priority
list for federal Military Airport Program grants for the current
fiscal year. The airport authority needs to extend the main
runway from 10,000 feet to 13,000 feet to ensure that cargo
planes can take off fully loaded in summer heat. The longer
runway is also needed for the most efficient use of the airport
as the main transportation hub for the 70,000 troops a year
traveling to and from the Army National Training Center at Fort
Irwin.
The Southern California Logistics Airport can easily supply the
Los Angeles basin, but it is beyond the region’s worst traffic,
making it the most convenient shipping location for the entire
West. SCLA Authority officials have shown they are ready and able
to begin serving these carriers as soon as they have a runway
long enough to handle the big jets. The House of Representatives
approved legislation placing the airport on the priority funding
list for Fiscal Year 2001. The airport is seeking an additional
$6 million to extend the runway to 15,000 feet, which would allow
an even greater number of flights. The initial cargo operation at
SCLA will bring about 200 jobs, but it has the potential to
attract businesses that could hire up to 20,000 people, according
to airport authority officials.
Beyond the obvious need to improve a closed military base, the
runway extension project is a valuable investment of federal
funds that will bring significant returns, both for the military
and the region. This is the safest and most convenient air hub
for the thousands of troops traveling to Fort Irwin and this
funding ensures that the runway is adequate for all of those
transports. In addition, shipping to this location will cut fuel
costs and pollution in the Los Angeles basin – not to mention
time and expense for shipping companies. The total cost for the
expansion is $5,502,000, with the Federal Aviation Administration
agreeing to pick up 90 percent at $4,951,800.
Extension of the runway will open the desert airport to the world
by allowing year-round use by the giant 747-400 cargo planes,
Michael Schaecher, vice president-Transpacific of
SwissGlobalCargo, told the authority in May. The company began
service to SCLA in October 1999 with one rotation a week. |
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S.C.L.A. from
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