Fort Allen (Puerto Rico)

Fort Allen, officially Fort Allen Training Center, is a Puerto Rico National Guard military installation located on a facility in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico.

History

Losey Field was established by the United States 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 1 April 1941 – 27 October 1943
20th Troop Carrier Squadron 10 May–June 1942
36th Fighter Group, January 1941-May 1943
417th Bombardment Squadron 29 May 1943 – 24 March 1944

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 ground forces and became Camp Losey.
1950: Camp Losey was renamed Fort Allen in memory former United States Army Signal Corps commander Brigadier General James Allen. Its new mission providing operational support for the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops during the Korean War.
1959: Fort Allen was transferred to the Army's Caribbean Signal Agency.
1963: The United States Navy 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 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.
1980: On 16 November 1980 Fort Allen became the Headquarters for the United States Army Reserve 35th Expeditionary Signal Battalion.
1981: The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service under a presidential order reconfigured Fort Allen as a processing center for Cuban and Haitian refugees.
1983: In August 1983 after negotiations with the United States Department of Defense realign Fort Allen by officially transferring 500 aches of land of Fort Allen to the Puerto Rico National Guard. One portion was transfer to the Naval Communication Station and another portion was transferred to the United States Army Reserve. The 35th Signal Battalion, along with other U.S. Army Reserve units remain as tenants.
1985: The Puerto Rico National Guard Language Center relocated to Fort Allen.
1997: The U.S. Navy built a receiver site for the Relocatable Over-the-horizon radar on government land at Fort Allen.
1999: The National Guard Youth Challenge Program 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 was inaugurated and dedicated posthumously to the 6th Adjutant General 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 military personnel assigned on post, but the Puerto Rico Army National Guard 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. 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 at Fort Allen but NGX operates a PX on base for authorized patrons.

Units and tenant units

Army National Guard
*191st Regional Support Group
* 240th Military Police Company
* 192nd Support Battalion, C Company
* 105th Quartermaster Company
* 482nd Chemical Company
* 714th Quartermaster Company

LTC Hernan G Pesquera U.S. Army Reserve Center

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

United States Army Reserve
* 35th Expeditionary Signal Battalion Headquarters and Headquarters Company
* 204 Transportation MDM Truck Company
* 276th Maintenance Support Company

Major General Salvador Padilla Escabi Armed Forces Reserve Center

On March 4, 2011 a Armed Forces Reserve Center 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 on 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 rotating and 126 military personnel per weekend.
This facility was dedicated posthumously to the 6th Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard, former Secretary of State of Puerto Rico and founder of the Language Center at Fort Allen, Major General Salvador M. Padilla Escabi.

Officer Candidate School, NCO Academy & Language Center

The Puerto Rico Army National Guard Officer Candidate School, 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 United States Navy leases of the other than operational area for a Relocatable Over the Horizon 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 radar consists of 34 antennas and support structure from to tall.

Youth Challenge Program

The National Guard Youth Challenge Program 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.