Black Hawk Company Approved to Land in Los Alamitos

Another Black Hawk helicopter unit is headed to Los Alamitos. The Army approved the transfer of an 87-member Army Reserve Aviation unit of 29 full-time personnel, 58 part-time reserve soldiers and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Victorville to the Joint Forces Training Base.

The move is expected to save the military $83,000 a month and make it easier to recruit reservists. However, it also has residents in the surrounding community worried about noise from the helicopters.

“Most people probably won’t even notice the difference,” predicted Chief Warrant Officer Rob Wilson of the Alpha Company 2-238 Aviation Regiment.

Wilson said the base’s current Black Hawk helicopter company stationed in Iraq will likely return within the next few weeks with fewer helicopters to be stationed in Los Alamitos.

Formerly known as the Ghost Riders but currently called the Gladiators, the helicopter company from Victorville will blend in to make the number of helicopter flights comparable to what residents were accustomed to before the California National Guard's 1-140th Aviation (Air Assault) Battalion deployed to Iraq, added Wilson.

The transfer will lead to huge quality-of-life improvements for the soldiers, he said.

“About 70 percent of them live in the basin. A lot of folks work all day, drive 100 miles to Victorville, do their duty, and go back to work the next day. It’s rough,” said Wilson. “It’s so remote, you can’t keep up with recruiting.”

The facility at Los Alamitos has been underutilized for years, he added.

Over the last several months as residents, city leaders and military officials debated the transfer, many in the community have said they don’t mind having fewer helicopters train at the base.

The four major concerns that residents conveyed during the meetings concerned noise, safety, property values and flight path violations. Many base neighbors in Seal Beach, Los Alamitos and Garden Grove indicated they felt torn between their desire for a tranquil neighborhood and their desire to support the soldiers.

Officials have not yet set a date for the transfer, said Wilson. However, he expected to begin the move this summer. When it arrives, the new helicopter company is expected to add an additional 15 flights per day.