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Lt. Col. Mike Codding signals his flight crew on departure
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El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is emptying out at last, jet by
screaming jet.
On Wednesday, the bulk of the joint Navy- Marine VMFAT-101 "Sharpshooters" training squadron roared
off the runway, two and three at a time, headed for a month-long training mission in El Centro, then
permanent residence at MCAS Miramar.
"It's the end of an era.
It's sad ... sad that we're leaving Orange County."
Lt. Col. Mike Codding
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The F/A-18 jets surged skyward on towers of teeth-rattling flame and disappeared
into the lowering clouds for the last time.
Weighing the federal order to vacate El Toro by 1999, watching it finally happen, pilots waxed
poetic:
"It's like you're leaving someone behind," said Lt. Col Mike Codding, head of the training squadron
and an El Toro Marine since 1994. "Only problem is, you're not going to come back to visit. It's
like being in the sixth grade and moving to another school."
US Navy Lt. Don Breen has served in Virginia Beach, Va., Kingsville, Texas, and Milton, Fla.: "It's
breaking my heart to leave here. It's a great base.
"Orange County's a different world. It's a
great place to be. You can go to ballgames, you can go to the symphony ... You couldn't ask for a
better place to be."
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A crewman checks over an F/A-18 before takeoff
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The move is forcing hard times on some. Breen's wife will be commuting
from their new home in San Diego County to stay close to her work as a union actress in
Hollywood. Some sailors and airmen have already made the move, others are still packing boxes or
looking for a place to stay.
"It's a pretty big mess," chuckled Marine Lt.- J.G. Bruce Donald.
But by Oct. 1, the cavernous hangar will be empty, the equipment racks bare, the squadron gone.
The Base Realignment and Closure Committee decreed that the base be turned back to civilian use, and
so it shall be. By 1999, the base's hangars, runways, green space and golf course will be in the
hands of a county contractor, assigned to rent out the facilities to help pay for its upkeep until
its future is decided.
"The whole BRAC closure I guess is the right thing to do, but it's a shame
they have to close this base," Breen added.
But whether MCAS El Toro becomes a commercial airport
or a multi-use development remains to be seen.
• F/A-18 Hornet — take a close look
• Go see what's in store for El Toro
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• One last breath of thunder
• Spec sheet: F/A-18 Hornet
• What's next for El Toro?
Quick
Facts
• MCAS El Toro History
What's VMFAT-101 mean?
V=Fixed wing
M=Marine
F=Fighter
A=Attack
T=Training squadron
Who's leaving?
Approximately 500 Marine Corps and Navy pilots, instructors, commanders, mechanics and support
crew.
Where to?
A one-month training mission. At least six F/A-18s will be based on a
carrier cruising up to 100 miles out in the Pacific. The rest will operate from a base at El Centro
during the mission. The entire squadron will move permanently to MCAS Miramar in San Diego when the
mission is over.
What's next?
Orange County government is trying to build a commercial
airport there. It's become a hot
debate
Out on the Web
•The F/A 18Web site
• Navy's Blue Angels Web site
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