Serving With the 146th? Make the Coast Your Home Base

Channel Islands Air National Guard Station is its own installation. It belongs to the California Air National Guard, not the Navy. It sits on 204 acres of state land next to Point Mugu, and its aircraft use the Navy's airfield.

• Address: 100 Mulcahey Drive, Port Hueneme, CA 93041
• Main number: 805-986-7500
• Home of: the 146th Airlift Wing, about 1,200 Guard members

The wing moved here from Van Nuys between 1988 and 1990. It traces its start to an observation squadron formed in Santa Monica in 1924.

The 146th flies the C-130J Super Hercules. Its job is tactical airlift: moving people and cargo, airdrops and medical evacuation.

It is also one of four wings in the country that fight wildfires from the air. With the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System loaded, a C-130 drops 3,000 gallons of retardant in under five seconds, a line about a quarter mile long. When California burns, these are the gray C-130s you see overhead.

Units:

• Operations Group, with the 115th Airlift Squadron and the aeromedical evacuation squadron
• Maintenance Group
• Medical Group
• Mission Support Group: security forces, civil engineers, logistics, communications and services
• The 562nd Air Force Band

For drill dates and where to report, ask your unit or your recruiter. The wing does not post a public schedule that we could find.

With a military or dependent ID card, Guard members and their families can shop at:

• The commissary at Port Hueneme. Guard and Reserve families have unlimited access. See commissary hours.
• The Navy Exchange. Guard members and dependents are authorized patrons.

Guard members on active orders are also eligible for Navy family housing at the base. Ask the Housing Service Center at 805-982-4321 about base housing. For MWR, lodging and clinics, bring your ID and ask, since the rules depend on your status.

The VA loan. Guard members earn it more than one way. The VA says you meet the service requirement with any one of these:

1. 90 days of active duty under Title 10, not counting training
2. 90 days of active service with at least 30 days in a row under Title 32 orders
3. Six creditable years in the Guard, whether you are still serving, honorably discharged or retired

Zero down, no monthly mortgage insurance. Check your eligibility or read how a VA loan works.

Housing allowance. Guard members on full time active orders generally draw BAH. See the 2026 BAH table. Orders of 30 days or less use a different, lower rate, and drill weekends carry no BAH, so for traditional members civilian income does most of the work when you qualify. Your finance office has the rule for your orders.

CalVet. California's own home loan program is open to Guard members who have been ordered to active duty, including full time Guard duty.

School. The California Military Department's GI Bill Award Program can pay up to 100 percent of tuition and fees at a University of California, California State University or community college campus for qualifying Guard members.

The station is on the Point Mugu side, so the same towns work: Camarillo, south Oxnard and Port Hueneme are all within about 25 minutes. Traditional Guard members come from across Southern California for drill. The Point Mugu commute page lists drive times from 14 towns.

• Navy Reserve Center Ventura County, at Port Hueneme, 805-469-3845
• Reserve Seabee units at Port Hueneme, including the First Naval Construction Regiment and NMCB 22 and 25
• Marine Corps Reserve: Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines
• Coast Guard Air Station Ventura, at Point Mugu since November 2024, with MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and about 100 people