San Diego is a place like none other when it comes to being home to the military.
There are Marine and Navy bases or facilities from the Mexican border to the Orange County border and from Point Loma to Yuma Arizona.
San Diego is the principal port for the Pacific Fleet. Naval Base Coronado includes everything from the huge aircraft carriers that call San Diego home and do our skyline to the Navy SEAL base where the best of the best are trained.
Point Loma is the home of a squadron of the fastest and most powerful submarines and their crews. Next to our downtown airport, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot takes young men and women from around the country and turns them into members of the world’s best fighting force, as U.S. Marines.
At Camp Pendleton, as we drive to and from L-A, we can watch Marines in action, as aircraft and ground personnel do what they do every day to be ready to deploy at any time.
And our skies are spotted with fighter jets and their pilots, supported and trained by ground crews and training personnel who amount to thousands of men and women at MCAS Miramar.
And at this time every year, during the Miramar Air Show this weekend, we are able to go on the Marine base and watch, and even touch, the aircraft up close and personal. Most importantly we get to meet and talk to the people who fly them, guide them, fix them and maintain them to be ready to respond as needed.
So it’s a good time to remember that when it comes to being a unique city because of the military presence, what makes it most unique are the men and women who have chosen to serve their country and protect us.
(Photo credit Getty Images)