Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles

34°07′13″N 119°07′16″W / 34.12028°N 119.12111°W / 34.12028; -119.12111

Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles
Unit patch
Active1962 (1962)–2016 (2016)
Country United States
BranchUnited States Coast Guard
TypeAir station
RolePatrol the Southern California Coast from Dana Point to Morro Bay.
Garrison/HQNaval Air Station Point Mugu
Aircraft flown
Helicopter3 HH-65 Dolphin

Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles (CGAS Los Angeles) was a United States Coast Guard Air Station located at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California. CGAS Los Angeles was activated in 1962, and was deactivated in 2016.[1]

Missions

Crews from CGAS Los Angeles and Baywatch Cabrillo demonstrating search and rescue techniques in San Pedro, 2009

CGAS Los Angeles missions included search and rescue, homeland security, and environmental protection.[citation needed]

Helicopters from the base patrolled the west coast of the United States from Morro Bay to Dana Point. The California Channel Islands, the Port of Los Angeles, and the Port of Long Beach fell within the station's operating area.[2]

History

CGAS Los Angeles was founded in August 1962 through the combined efforts of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Senator Thomas Kuchel, and U.S. Representative James Roosevelt.[citation needed]

Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard of USCG Los Angeles over LAX in 1973

The unit began as an aviation detachment in August 1962, with one HO-4S helicopter from CGAS San Diego. ASLA was commissioned in November 1962 with two HO-4S helicopters, nine officers, and twenty enlisted personnel. In May 1963, the unit switched to three HH-52A Seaguard helicopters. These helicopters were flown for 24 years, until in 1987 the Air Station transitioned to HH-65A Dolphin helicopters.[2]

In 2004, Los Angeles World Airports informed USCG that the 25-year lease which would expire in 2011 would not be renewed for another 25 years. Instead, LAWA would only grant a 5-year extension to 2016. In September 2016, CGAS Los Angeles was closed when the lease on the existing facility at Los Angeles International Airport ended. its component units were relocated to a Coast Guard Forward Operating Base located at NVBC Point Mugu.[2] Administratively, it merged with/became a satellite FOB of the Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco until the opening of Air Station Ventura in 2024.[3][4] This allowed LAX to accommodate the planned improvements for LAX's midfield, including the Midfield Satellite Concourse North (MSC North; now known as the West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal).[3][5]

Older CGAS Los Angeles patch

References

  1. ^ "COAST GUARD AIR STATION LOS ANGELES DECOMMISSIONING CEREMONY". Facebook. May 20, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "DRAFT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT For U.S. COAST GUARD AIR STATION POINT MUGU At NAVAL BASE VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA" (PDF). February 2022. 1.2 "Background", from pp. 1-1 to 1-3.
  3. ^ a b Green, Nick (January 23, 2015). "Local Coast Guard station to shrink after Air Station Los Angeles at LAX shuts in 2016". Daily Breeze.
  4. ^ Orozco, Lance (September 9, 2016). "Coast Guard Permanently Moving Air Station From Los Angeles To Ventura County". KCLU.
  5. ^ Burgess, Richard (February 2, 2015). "Coast Guard to Move Air Station from Los Angeles". Seapower. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015.