Combat Center hosts San Bernardino Board of Supervisors

Twentynine Palms -- G-5 Government and External Affairs hosted the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors for a tour of the Combat Center, May 12, 2017.

The function of the County Board of Supervisors is to oversee the operations of the government in their county. San Bernardino is the largest county in the United States with a population of more than 2 million people and contains five military installations, to include the Combat Center.

“What Marines take for granted, what we understand in terms of how the Marine Corps works, the rest of the United States doesn’t,” said Lt. Col. Jason Roach, operations officer, Tactical Training Exercise Control Group. “Working aboard [the Combat Center] I’m also a member of this community so these are my neighbors. Having them out here helps them understand why we operate the way we do.”

Of the five San Bernardino County Supervisors, Chairman Robert Lovingood, 1st District Supervisor and Chairman James Ramos, 3rd District Supervisor, were in attendance along with several members of their staff. The first stop on the tour was Range 400, where supervisors and staff were able to observe Marines training and learn more about how the expansive lands on which we train are used to make our fighting force more effective.

“The installations in our county are critically important to our economy and also to the protection of our nation,” Lovingood said. “Seeing the service members who keep this country safe conducting live training was incredible.”

Following Range 400, the supervisors and staff were taken to the installation’s Recycling Facility, where they gained insight to the Combat Center’s commitment to conservation and resourcefulness. The next stop on the tour was the Frontline Restaurant where visitors viewed a video highlighting the Combat Center’s training capabilities and enjoyed lunch with Combat Center Commanding General, Brig. Gen. William F. Mullen III.

“What we do has an impact on the rest of the community,” Roach said. “I think if we can all come to a common understanding, like the importance of the base, we’re probably going to be much closer aligned in our viewpoints.”

The tour concluded with a visit to the Battle Simulation Center. There, participants learned about the capabilities of the convoy simulator and its usefulness in preparing units for what they may face in a deployed environment.

“I’m walking away today with confidence in our national security and the relationships we maintain worldwide,” Lovingood said. “It’s not only America we’re protecting, we’re protecting our allies and we’re given a world class training center to do that in. I think the more we let the citizens know what’s being provided for their own protection, the more it strengthens the belief and recognition of the relationship the community and the installation shares.”