Regional Military Affairs Committee

Gen. Steven Nordhaus, the 30th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and Command Sgt. Maj. James B. Kendrick, the 14th Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard, visit with Virginia Air National Guard senior leaders and Virginia Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, 29th Infantry Division Aug. 15, 2026, in Sandston, Virginia. Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, and Chief Master Sgt. John F. Nye, the Virginia National Guard’s senior enlisted leader, joined the NGB senior leaders visiting with VaANG leaders at the Mullins Readiness Center, and VaARNG aviators at the VNG Army Aviation Support Facility, where Nordhaus presented five aviators with his challenge coin for exceptional performance.

"Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom & liberty of total strangers than the American soldier."

At our monthly meetings we keep calling up for a briefly the 40th Infantry from the National Guard. Crickets. We got some intel on there whereabouts! Training on the base. This was at the 50 meter pool. California Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 40th Infantry Division conduct the division’s first Jungle Operations Training Course (JOTC) assessment at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, California, June 14, 2026, during Annual Training 26. The assessment tested Soldiers’ readiness, endurance and tactical skills while preparing them for jungle mobility, land navigation, combat tracking, tactics and survival training.
The assessment prepares Soldiers for JOTC, a two-week Lightning Academy course at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, that trains service members in jungle mobility, waterborne operations, combat tracking, land navigation, jungle tactics and survival. The course follows a crawl-walk-run progression and culminates with a squad-level field training exercise and the Green Mile endurance event

Monthly meeting
On Tuesday, July 26…..


Agenda
Tuesday, July 26, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. (1530 hrs.)
Joint Forces Training Base
Building 244, MVRC (Military Veteran Resource Center)
11200 Lexington Drive, Los Alamitos, CA. 90720
RMAC is open to the public, but federal issued Real I.D., or a Passport is required to enter the base at the Main Gate on Lexington Drive.
1. Welcome - Chair

2. Pledge of Allegiance - All

3. Self - Introductions All Attendees - All

4. Old Business

5. New Business / Updates
a. Update from JFTB
b. Update from 40th Infantry Division
c. Update from Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
d. Update from Coast Guard
e. Update from Los Angeles Air Force Base
f. Update from 79th Theater Support Command
g. Recruiters


6. Presentation – The July speaker is Colonel Andrew C. Dermanoski, US Space Force. Col Dermanoski is commander, Space Base Delta 3, the installation commander of Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo. LA AFB is the home to USSF Space Systems Command. He also commands Fort MacArthur in San Pedro and military base housing in Palos Verdes. http://www.losangeles.spaceforce.mil

7. Non-Agenda Items
a. Announcements from sign up list

8. Adjourn

Next meeting: The RMAC meets monthly on the 4th Tuesday of the month. 
The next meeting will be on Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The August speakers will be from the Battleship IOWA in San Pedro. http://www.pacificbattleship.com

RMAC is a civilian support group for the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
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A 20% discount at the Pub is available for attendees for lunch and dinner.

Pacific Battleship Center - Battleship USS Iowa Pacific Battleship Center operates Battleship USS Iowa and the future National Museum of the Surface Navy, delivering veterans, education, and community programs.

The March Regional Military Affairs Committee on March 24 meeting has been cancelled by JFTB due to heightened security issues.
The April 28 meeting remains on schedule at 3:30 pm.

Help us congratulate our newly promoted Capt. Omar Peña, Judge Advocate General Corps Attorney, and Staff Sgt. James Avila, Paralegal Specialist, of the 40th Infantry Division JAG Section at Joint Forces Training Base, Los Alamitos, Calif., Jan. 25, 2026.

Their dedication, professionalism, and service to guard members across the division continue to make a meaningful impact. Congratulations on this well earned achievement, and we wish you continued success in your new ranks. 🇺🇸 ⚖
(📸 : Sgt. William F. Espinosa)

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Today our former Commanding Officer, CAPT Jessica O’Brien, was presented with an award plaque at the North County Fire Protection District. The District covers our Fallbrook, California detachment. During CAPT O'Brien's tenure here at Seal Beach, we were able to help obtain a $7 million Defense Community Infrastructure Program grant that will pay for approximately 50 percent of the cost to build a new fire station in town. The new fire station will help support both our Fallbrook base as well as the surrounding community. Presenting the award is District Board Member Chris Shaw and Fire Chief Keith McReynolds.

In a quiet ceremony at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos on Friday, three volunteers were honored for their work inside the base as military leaders struggled to decommission more than 4,000 federalized members of the California National Guard.

Earlier this year, the military population of the base exploded after the Trump Administration launched an effort with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that swelled the ranks of the base to troop levels not seen since World War II.
Two Orange County residents and an L.A. area volunteer were awarded the “California Achievement Medal” by the state’s Military Department for “exceptional achievement” from July through August of this year.

With a room full of troops watching inside the headquarters of the 40th Infantry Division of JFTB, Brigadier General Robert Paoletti presented medals to Stephanie Pofcher, Gordon Crane, and Reginald Fields for their volunteer work inside the base during the chaotic days of demobilizing the more than 4000 troops at the base.

“Our job as leaders is to take care of soldiers,” said Paoletti. “This is what the Army trains and pays us to do. But it is a lot easier for us to do that work when we have volunteers like these three that show up and take care of our soldiers,” he said.
“These citizens helped us do something that had never been done,” the Brigadier General said.

Paoletti said it may sound simple to “demobilize” a service member, but once the federal government got involved, “you have no idea how much more paperwork” is required.

Service members from the 40th Infantry Division thank the three civilians for their assistance during the recent task force deployment and demobilization at JFTB.
He said Pofcher was there for six days, “not getting paid like us,” noting that “she did six different briefings and helped to demobilize approximately 1500 service members.”

“As a citizen warrior, receiving the California Achievement Medal is an extraordinary and humbling honor,” she said later.
“My heart is filled with deep gratitude and respect for the men and women in uniform — especially those serving in our Reserve Components in California. Their service, whether in times of peace, war, or natural disasters, defines what it means to be our local heroes,” the base volunteer said.

“We made history,” she said of the three volunteers.

Paoletti said Crane managed the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) booth for seven days, working with approximately 1800 service members.

Fields briefed more than 1,000 service members and he was on base for three days, said Paoletti.

“We are here to honor them today for their sacrifice and for their volunteerism and help us take care of ourselves,” Gen. Paoletti said.

Paoletti said the medals were authorized by Lt. Col. Michael A. Mineni, Jr. Director of the California Military Department’s J9 Joint Resiliency Project.

The J9 supports the acquisition, development, employment, and retention of talented Soldiers, Airmen, Civilians, and Volunteers needed to achieve holistic readiness, according to the California Military Department.
During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Ruth Rivas read the order to award the medals.

“Attention to order. California Achievement Medal is presented to Mr. Gordon Crane, Mr. Reginald Fields, and Miss Stephanie Pofcher for exceptional achievement during the period of 19, July 2025, to 1, August 2025. These individuals distinguished themselves while serving as Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve volunteers in support of the demobilization of nearly 4000 California National Guardsmen.”

Paoletti said the public should remember that behind each member of the CalGuard, there is generally an employer who needs to be coordinated with, so the ESGR plays a vital role.

After the ceremony, the throng of service members inside the 40th Infantry Division headquarters on the base lined up to shake hands with the three medal awardees.

The general said facilitating 4,000 troops and then demobilizing them so quickly has never been done. “We proved what California can do, and we can do things like that because of people like all of you,” he told the volunteers.