This report provided by Loren Vinson.
On Thursday, February 21st 2019 there was a meeting of the Community Leaders Forum at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The special guest for the meeting was the recently installed Commanding Officer of the base, Col. Charles B. Dockery. Col. Dockery gave a presentation on the world situation and the role of the Marine Corps in the military forces of the United States. The following is a brief summary of his presentation.
Col. Dockery reviewed the Marine Corps view that there are four main competitors on the world stage: Iran, North Korea, China, and the United States. He also reviewed the mission of the various armed forces in this country and the role they have to play. In particular, he noted that the air space surrounding Miramar Marine Corps Air Station represents about 66% of the total air space available in the entire country for training efforts, underlining the importance of this particular base. At the same time, Col. Dockery talked about the importance of the communities that surround the base is to the Marine Corps mission, and the Marine efforts to make things work for the community. For example, a large part of the power consumed by the base is generated on base by methane gas, and in the unlikely event that power in San Diego was lost, the Marines are prepared to not only operate independently but to also offer power and emergency facilities to the civilian community.
Col. Dockery discussed some of the current issues he is looking at and how they might be improved. For example, they are currently looking at traffic flows at the gates to the station. Another concern is the increase in Unmanned Aircraft System (drone) activity, which is a safety concern for all of us. They are looking at technology that might help in this area. After the presentation, the staff at Miramar discussed the operations expected and the concerns of citizens in the area, particularly the noise complaints received by the base. It should be noted that there have been no recent complaints from the Tierrasanta area.
