Fort Allen, officially Fort Allen Training Center, is a

Puerto Rico National Guard The Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) – es, Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico– is the national guard of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal and s ...

military installation A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

located on a 921-acre facility in

Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico Juana Díaz (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the southern coast of the island, south of Jayuya, Ciales, Orocovis and Villalba; east of Ponce; and west of Coamo and Santa Isabel and the Caribbean Sea to the south. Jua ...

History

Losey Field was established by the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was used during World War II by fighter & bomber units. It was named for Captain Robert M. Losey, an aeronautical meteorologist who in April 1940 became the United States' first military casualty in World War II. Units assigned were: *

4th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron The 4th Reconnaissance Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 319th Operations Group and stationed at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, from which it operates RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned vehicles. It was activated there ...

(13th Composite Wing, 72nd Observation Group) 1 April 1941 – 27 October 1943 * 20th Troop Carrier Squadron (Sixth Air Force Base Command) 10 May–June 1942 * 36th Fighter Group (Headquarters), January 1941-May 1943 :

22d Fighter Squadron The 22nd Fighter Squadron, sometimes written as 22d Fighter Squadron, (22 FS) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 52nd Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Originally constitut ...

, 6 January-13 December 1941 (P-40 Warhawk) :

23rd Fighter Squadron The 23d Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 52d Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. It was inactivated on 13 August 2010. History World War II The 23d Fighter S ...

, 6 January-31 May 1941; 15 November-13 December 1941(P-40 Warhawk) : 32d Fighter Squadron, 6 January 1941-19 February 1942; 9 March-14 June 1943 (P-40 Warhawk) *

417th Bombardment Squadron The 417th Bombardment Squadron is a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the 25th Bombardment Group at Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico where it was inactivated on 20 June 1944. History The squadron was establ ...

(

25th Bombardment Group Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash th ...

) 29 May 1943 – 24 March 1944 (B-18 Bolo) Subsequently: * 1944: After the departure of the 417th Bombardment Squadron in 1944, the airfield was turned over to Army ground forces. * 1949: Losey Army Airfield was transferred to

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

(USA) ground forces and became Camp Losey. * 1950: Camp Losey was renamed Fort Allen. * 1959: Fort Allen was transferred to the Army's Caribbean Signal Agency. * 1963: The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

(USN) took control of the military post and redesignated as Naval Radio Station Fort Allen, Puerto Rico. * 1970: The Headquarters & Communications Center of Naval Communication Station (NAVCOMMSTA) Puerto Rico relocated from San Juan to Fort Allen. * 1980: The U.S. Navy moved the Naval Communication Station Puerto Rico Headquarters & Communication Center from Fort Allen to

Naval Station Roosevelt Roads Roosevelt Roads Naval Station is a former United States Navy base in the town of Ceiba, Puerto Rico. The site operates today as José Aponte de la Torre Airport, a public use airport. History In 1919, future US President Franklin D. Roose ...

. * 1980: On 16 November 1980 Fort Allen became the home for the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

(USAR) 35th Expeditionary Signal Battalion. * 1981: The

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...

(INS) under a presidential order reconfigured Fort Allen as a processing center for Cuban and Haitian refugees. * 1983: Fort Allen was officially transferred to the

(PRNG). The 35th Signal Battalion, along with other U.S. Army Reserve units remain as tenants. * 1985: The Puerto Rico National Guard Language Center (PRNGLC) relocated to Fort Allen. * 1997: The U.S. Navy built a receiver site for the Relocatable

Over-the-horizon radar Over-the-horizon radar (OTH), sometimes called beyond the horizon radar (BTH), is a type of radar system with the ability to detect targets at very long ranges, typically hundreds to thousands of kilometres, beyond the radar horizon, which is ...

(ROTHR) on government land at Fort Allen. * 1999: The National Guard

Youth Challenge Program The Youth Challenge Program is a program for at-risk youth run by the National Guard of the United States, which consists of Youth Challenge Academies (known as YCA's) in each participating state. The stated mission of the Youth Challenge Program i ...

was established on post. * 2007: Soldiers from the 35th Signal Battalion, 1st Mission Support Command, were deployed from Fort Allen to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. * 2011: The Fort Allen Armed Forces Reserve Center (AFRC) was inaugurated and dedicated posthumously to the 6th

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the Puerto Rico National Guard and founder of the Language Center at Fort Allen, Major General Salvador Padilla Escabi.

Current use

Since the Navy left Fort Allen in 1980 there's been no regular

Active Duty Active duty, in contrast to reserve duty, is a full-time occupation as part of a military force. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, the equivalent term is active service. India The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be o ...

military personnel assigned on post, but the

Puerto Rico Army National Guard The Puerto Rico Army National Guard (PRARNG) — officially designated in Spanish as ''Guardia Nacional Terrestre de Puerto Rico'', but colloquially known as ''Ejército de la Guardia Nacional de Puerto Rico'' — is the Army National Guard of the ...

and U.S. Army Reserve do have permanent Active Guard Reserve personnel present. Fort Allen, while still a federally-owned facility, is operated by the Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG). Its mission is educational in scope and that of providing support to the Puerto Rico Army National Guard and Army Reserve units stationed in southern Puerto Rico. There is not a

Commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

at Fort Allen but NGX operates a PX on base for authorized patrons.

Units and tenant units

Army National Guard **

191st Regional Support Group 191st Regional Support Group (191st RSG) is a regional support group of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard. The unit's federal (MTOE/TDA) mission is '..Deploys to provide contingency and expeditionary Base Operations Support, with responsibili ...

** 240th Military Police Company ** 192nd Support Battalion, C Company (Med) ** 105th Quartermaster Company ** 482nd Chemical Company ** 714th Quartermaster Company * United States AR seal

U.S. Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 20 ...

** 35th Expeditionary Signal Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) ** 5th Brigade, 94th Training Division ** 807th Signal Company ** 613th Military Police Detention Company ** 276th Ordnance Company ** 941st Quartermaster Company

Hernan G Pesquera U.S. Army Reserve Center

LTC Hernan G. Pesquera United States Army Reserve Center (USARC) is located on 39 acres within the grounds of Fort Allen, Puerto Rico. This facility is named after Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel and federal judge Hernan Gregorio Pesquera.

Armed Forces Reserve Center

On March 4, 2011 a Armed Forces Reserve Center (AFRC) was inaugurated at Fort Allen to relocate the U.S. Army Reserve 8th Multifunctional of the 180th Division and retention office. The Puerto Rico Army National Guard 201st Regiment Multifunctional Training Brigade was located to the Fort Allen Armed Forces Reserve Center. A Unheated storage building was also built. It also has a fitness room, locker rooms, weapons simulator, classrooms and private offices and an armory/vault. The Fort Allen Armed Forces Reserve Center can accommodate 150 Guard and Reserve Soldiers on a rotating basis, 126 military personnel per weekend. This facility was dedicated posthumously to the 6th Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) and founder of the Language Center at Fort Allen, Major General Salvador Padilla Escabi.

Officer Candidate School, NCO Academy & Language Center

The Puerto Rico Army National Guard

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

, NCO Academy and the Language Center for the Puerto Rico Army and Air National Guard recruits are located at Fort Allen.

Over-the-horizon radar

The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

Relocatable Over the Horizon (ROTHR) receiver site was built in 1997 on government land at Fort Allen as part of a surveillance network which is designed to monitor flights over an area encompassing more than in South America. The (ROTHR) radar consists of 34 antennas and support structure from 71 to tall.

Youth Challenge Program

The National Guard

Community Outreach Youth Program came aboard to Fort Allen in 1999 to intervene and reclaim the lives of 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts, producing program graduates with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as productive citizens. Participants of the Youth Challenge Program live in Fort Allen during the program.

References

Bibliography

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . *

External links

* http://www.ngycp.org/state/pr_es/contactus.php * http://www.navy-radio.com/commsta/puerto-rico.htm * http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti-archive/msg09149.html
Fort Allen at GlobalSecurity.org

{{USAAF 6th Air Force World War II Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico Installations of the United States Army National Guard Allen, Puerto Rico Military installations established in 1941 Military facilities in Puerto Rico 1941 establishments in Puerto Rico