Contact Information
MCAS Miramar, California is located about 15 km from San Diego and is operated by the US Marine Corps. The airfield the base hosts is named in the honor of M. A. Mitscher, a courageous commander who led during World War II. If the base is famous in the Marine Corps for its techniques and aircrafts, it is more popular among civilians for the TOPGUN operations that also represented the basic idea in the movie with the same name. The base spreads over more than 23000 acres. It is crossed by Interstate 15 and Kearny Villa Road. The eastern side is not as highly developed. It is mostly used for training sessions.
History
The area went through multiple rulers over the history. The first to inhabit it were the Kumeyaay natives. The Spanish forces also controlled it for a few centuries, then the Civil War split it into more parcels. They were sold to the civilians. One of these civilians was Edward Scripps, a local citizen working for a newspaper. He built a little ranch here and named it Miramar. By 1917, the whole place was turned into a military base. The army purchased almost 13000 acres and opened a camp. The place was used to train and prepare the infantrymen before their deployment to Europe. As the war ended, MCAS Miramar California was “killed”. All the 1200 buildings were destroyed and the authorities closed the camp. Since the place was useless, it was used by one of the locals – Charles Lindbergh – to test various aircrafts. He became famous later after he managed the first flight over the Atlantic Ocean. Soon after, the base was reactivated and controlled by the US Navy. However, nothing important happened here.
A few years before World War II started, the base was taken through a series of improvements. More upgrades took place during the war as well, especially since the concrete runway was quickly degrading. World War II saw two different units working together at the base, on both sides of the road. As they did it well, they were merged and this is how the actual MCAS Miramar California base was born.
The 2005 commission for base closure and realignment saved the base from closure. Instead, it was taken from the US Navy and given to the Marine Corps. The upcoming years came with a few extra improvements. In 2006, the authorities rejected the proposal of a commercial airport in the area. Unfortunately for its history, the base has a dark history when it comes to fatal crashes.
Units
MCAS Miramar hosts the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, with all its five subdivisions. It is also the home for the Marine Aircraft Group 46 and the Combat Logistics Company 11. Less important tenant and associate units inhabit this place too, but for short periods of time.
Housing
The housing system is influenced by your rank and purpose. Finding an on site house implies completing an application first. Some single soldiers rely on the off site privatized system instead. It is faster.
