During budget season at the federal government, you can count on two things: partisan bickering and the threat of consolidating or closing armed forces bases. And so it is again this year, with rumors swirling around the possibility of either closing or relocating the Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB). While there has been no official announcement, I am deeply concerned about the impact this change could create – both in LA County and on the national stage. That is why our local leaders must be proactive in keeping this historic base in El Segundo, where it belongs.
While LA is often associated with entertainment and celebrity, our region actually serves as a key hub to our nation’s defense. Over 5,000 people are employed directly by LAAFB, and it creates another 11,700 jobs locally. Additionally, some of our greatest aerospace and defense companies, which depend on supporting this base, are just miles away. And our county’s community colleges and universities graduate more engineers than anywhere else in the nation, serving as a fabulous pipeline of talent to this local defense infrastructure.
To relocate these military, civilian and contracted employees would not only disrupt our own county, but also the base’s role in our nation’s defense. Inside LAAFB is the country’s highly prized Space and Missile Systems Center (SMSC), providing our military with sophisticated intelligence gathering with space-based surveillance, communications, navigation and meteorology. This technology and the people who work in the SMSC have delivered amazing results during recent wars, and more than ever, we need to rely on these individuals and technology to protect us from the threats we face around the world today.
Together, the LAAFB and SMSC are critical assets to LA County’s economy and our nation’s security. I am asking that the mayors of all 88 cities in Los Angeles County write letters to the secretaries of Defense and the Air Force, to ensure they understand LAAFB must stay in the South Bay. The LA economy will benefit. And most importantly, the nation will benefit by keeping LAAFB in LA.