Personnel from Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach will be taking part in
Exercise Citadel Rumble 2010 from August 30-September 2. “They keep the details of the drill under wraps,” said Gregg T. Smith, spokesperson for Navel Weapons Station Seal Beach. “These exercises get pretty detailed, with various surprises thrown in by the drill organizers. For example, during these events I often get multiple phone calls from Navy training team members posing as journalists, city officials or members of the public wanting details about whatever "incident" the drill involves.”

We are pleased to announce the first annual Army Family Programs Charity Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Greater Los Angeles Chapter, Association of the United States Army (AUSA). AUSA is a private, non-profit educational organization that supports America's Army - Active, National Guard, Reserve, Civilians, Retirees and family members. AUSA is a 501(c) (3) Non-Profit Organization with 125 chapters and over 100,000 individual members worldwide.

More than 300 soldiers from the Los Alamitos area are on their way to Iraq for a 12-month deployment. They began their journey to Ft. Hood there first stop in three stages - Beginning this past Sunday, Monday, and the main body on Tuesday August 10th. These soldiers are members of the California National Guard's 1-140th Aviation (Air Assault) Battalion, based in Los Alamitos. They fly and maintain Black Hawk helicopters, and will help move troops and supplies during their deployment in central Iraq.

In what is becoming an annual open house event at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, the USS Gridley welcomes public visitors this weekend. Gregg Smith, Public Information Officer for the base told www.OC180NEWS.com “What we’ve been trying to do over the last few years is have one ship per year that is available to come up and open its doors to the public.”

Many service people pass through Los Alamitos, across Katella and down Lexington, coming and going to the Joint Forces Training Base. After Monday, June 14, 2010, thanks to the efforts of a local organizer and various supporters, those service people might feel a little more appreciated. The public is invited to an unveiling ceremony at Laurel Park on Monday beginning at 6:00 pm, and any uniformed military personnel are invited as honored guests to join the sponsors for dinner at 5:00 pm.

There’s a war going on out there—or, is it an earthquake, or a flood—either way, it is being simulated in a special training mission at the Joint Forces Training Base this week and next. If you have noticed more than usual activity at the base, that’s because there are about 1,000 soldiers engaged in a command and control trading simulation there.

As part of the festivities associated with the first ever commissioning of a navy ship in Orange County, host city Seal Beach got some newly planted trees yesterday. 33 members of the USS Dewey crew planted more than 50 New Zealand Christmas trees along Lampson Avenue as a community service project for Seal Beach. The navy’s newest and most sophisticated ship, The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, USS Dewey (DDG-105), will be commissioned at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, on Saturday, March 6, 2010.

After serving the United States Navy for 33 years, the USS Los Angeles (SSN 688) will arrive in Los Angeles later Today for a final visit that includes a decommissioning ceremony Jan. 23. USS Los Angeles departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Jan. 14, and is stopping in Los Angeles en route to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for inactivation. The visit will include participation by the crew in numerous public events ongoing throughout the weekend.

Sometime last fall, General Combs of the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos decided he could conserve water and help meet environmental goals by setting up a composting operation on the base. Monday night at the Seal Beach City Council meeting, the peoples' representatives gave the much maligned project a big thumbs down. The problem, among other complaints, is the potential daily parade of 12 to 15 40 ton trash hauling 18 wheelers thundering down Lampson Avenue, a residential street.

An all-hands meeting, sponsored by the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), to provide veterans with topical information regarding their benefits and services, specifically for those recently returning from active duty.

The Southern California Tuna Club has once again graciously extended an invitation to Service Members to go ocean fishing for a day, on Saturday, 10th July, 2010. The trip is all-inclusive (tackle, bait, and lunch), there will be no payment required. The trip is open to all service members returning from a deployment during the last year. First come first served.

Local residents interested in commemorating Memorial Day will have two opportunities in Seal Beach this Monday. Services will be held at Navel Weapons Station Seal Beach at 11:00 am. The City of Seal Beach will hold a celebration starting at 1:00 PM.

A day of celebration at the Joint Forces Training Base brought family, friends, and fellow soldiers of Col. Lawrence A. Haskins together for his promotion to Brigadier General and the number two command position in the California National Guard. Brig. Gen. Mary J. Kight, the California National Guard’s Adjutant General, conducted the formal promotion ceremony on Saturday, May 1, 2010.

Sometimes extraordinary things happen in Seal Beach. This March 6th, a week from Saturday, for the first time ever in Orange County, a naval vessel will be commissioned. Commissioning a ship is a time-honored tradition, which celebrates a vessels' formal entry into service with the active Navy fleet. But, what does that mean to us as a community here in Seal Beach? Why should we care?

For those of us who like to look with wonder and awe at machines of war--be it the supersonic F-18 Super Hornet or the massive 18-inch guns of a battleship, today's navy ships can appear less than impressive. The guns with barrels wide enough to swallow a person are a relic of times gone by. That is, of course, only in appearances. Consider the US Navy's precedent setting guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold, which is offering a rare opportunity for public tours this weekend in Seal Beach.

The plans of BG (R) James Combs, of the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, to run a composting operation on the base continue to create controversy among residents of Seal Beach, Rossmoor, and Los Alamitos. The plan ignited a firestorm of complaints from residents of College Park East at the Seal Beach City Council meeting on May 11. Last night, General Combs gave another presentation, complete with a tour of the composting site on the base. The plan he described last night varied in some significant details from the presentation at the Seal Beach city council meeting.