Fort Allen (Puerto Rico)

Fort Allen, officially Fort Allen Training Center, is a Puerto Rico National Guard military base located on a 921-acre plot of land in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico.

History

 * 1941: The U.S. Army Air Corps established an airfield 4 mi south of the town of Juana Díaz, 10 mi east of Ponce, Puerto Rico during World War II known as Losey Army Airfield in honor of 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, 20th Troop Carrier Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, 22d Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Squadron, 32d Fighter Squadron, 417th Bombardment Squadron (25th Bombardment Group)


 * 1949: Losey Army Airfield was transferred to U.S. Army 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 U.S. 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 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.


 * 1980: On 16 November 1980 Fort Allen became the home for the U.S. Army Reserve 35th Signal Battalion.


 * 1981: The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service INS under a presidential order reconfigured Fort Allen as a processing center for Cuban & Haitian refugee.


 * 1983: Fort Allen was officially transferred to the Puerto Rico Army National Guard PRARNG. The 35th Signal Battalion, along with other U.S. Army Reserve units with the 1st Mission Support Command, 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 ROTHR 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 AFRC was inaugurated and 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.

Current use
Since 1980, Fort Allen has no members of Active Duty military assigned on post, but there are Active Guard Reserve personnel permanently at Fort Allen. Its mission is educational in scope and that of providing support to the Puerto Rico Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserve units stationed in southern Puerto Rico. The facilities at Fort Allen include classrooms, maintenance shops, an amphitheater, swimming pool, gym, recreational area, administrative offices, security office, barracks to house military personnel, chapel, dining facilities and a barber shop. 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
 * 240th Military Police Company
 * 192nd Support Battalion, C Company (Med)
 * 219th Quartermaster Detachment

U.S. Army Reserve
 * 35th Signal Battalion
 * 807th Signal Company
 * 613th Military Police Company
 * 276th Ordnance Company
 * 941st Quartermaster Company

Armed Forces Reserve Center
On March 4, 2011 a 55037 sqft 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 will locate the 201st Regiment Multifunctional Training Brigade to the Fort Allen Armed Forces Reserve Center. A 155 sqft 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 former 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, 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 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 1000000 sqmi in South America. The (ROTHR) radar consists of 34 antennas and support structure from 71 to 123 ft 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 16-18 year old high school dropouts, producing program graduates with the values, life skills, education, and self-discipline necessary to succeed as productive citizens.