MARINE CORPS AIR STATION AT YUMA

Many people think of Yuma as just a Snowbird or Winter Visitor destination but it is also well known for its agriculture (lots of lettuce) and is home to a Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS).  The air station is located on the east end of Yuma and it is between our RV resort and the downtown area.  The MCAS does the air traffic control for both the military and commercial air traffic in Yuma; the runways are shared but the terminal buildings are on opposite sides of the runway.

Once a month during the winter months, the MCAS hosts an open house for the public so we attended a session this past week.  We drove to the south end of the airbase and boarded buses for a tour of the base.  The base has about 4,000 active duty Marines and sailors, some who live on base and some who live off base.  It is the “Marine Corps' premiere aviation training base and with access to 2.8 million acres of bombing and aviation training ranges and superb flying weather, MCAS Yuma supports 80 percent of the Corps' air-to-ground aviation training. The air station annually hosts approximately 70 aviation units, bringing an average of 600 aircraft and 14,000 personnel for ongoing training that takes place throughout the year.”

This month, a Canadian helicopter squadron was training here in Yuma. 

Quote from the Yuma – USMC Web Site: “Exercise Desert Gander launched off station Feb. 1, 2011, marking the final step of predeployment training for approximately 220 members of Canadian military forces. 

During the exercise, 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron based with the Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, Alberta, practiced air-to-ground firing exercises, dust ball training and convoy operations at the ranges surrounding Yuma. 

"Dust ball training helps door gunners and pilots learn to deal with dust clouds that form when landing," said Cpl. Ted McGirr, 408 Squadron flight engineer and right door gunner. "Another aspect to consider is the heat. When it is very hot the air is thin and it makes it difficult to lift off. By conducting these exercises we gain much needed experience." 

The squadron has held their winter training here for the last three years, due to its ideal training environment and optimum facilities. 

"The terrain here is very similar to Afghanistan," said Capt. Bob Hackett, executive officer and adjutant. "The heat and dust, something you don't find in Canada, help our guys prepare for what we are going to see in our deployment." 

The squadron is slated to deploy to Afghanistan later this spring.”.

Our guide was a young female marine just out of boot camp and her perspectives were interesting.  Her training was the same as the men’s so she was carrying an 80 lb pack and running the obstacle courses even though she is just over 5 ft tall.  On the bus, we toured past the officers' club, residences, Laundromat, commissary, theatre, gym, bank, gas station, obstacle field, different training areas and got off the bus at the terminal building.

We were able to walk through a grouping of field vehicles, guns and rifles,

 air reconnaissance equipment 

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle : Mission is to provide day and night unmanned Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition in support of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

and a couple of jets including the well known Harrier jet.  They are amazing and the pilot entertained everyone with his stories about flying the jet.  The jets can land and take off both at full speed or at a hover, depending on what is needed.  The pilots fly the aircraft, launch and control their missiles alone, so there is a lot of work keeping the jet in the air, communicating with ground crews, dropping the missiles at the right location and avoiding getting shot down.  Talk about a high stress job.  The Harriers cost about $35 million each and they are slowly being replaced by F35’s which are more computerized and supposedly more efficient.

HARRIER JET

We also watched demonstrations of their attack dogs and it was scary to imagine one of those dogs coming at you unexpectedly.

The tour lasted a couple of hours and was well worth the time spent.  Near the end of March, MCAS Yuma will be putting on an air show that is free to the public so we are looking forward to attending that event.