Paso Robles News|Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Hundreds of National Guard troops land at Paso Robles Airport 

–About four hundred California National Guard troops landed at the Paso Robles Airport Tuesday night. Nine C-130 transport planes flew into the airport transporting troops from Moffett Field south of San Francisco, and the Channel Islands Air Field north of Los Angeles. The planes began landing at 11:30 a.m. and continued landing until after 9 p.m. Additional soldiers were seen arriving at San Luis Obispo Airport the same day.

“Hundreds of Cal Guard members deployed to Camp Roberts for training required to safely support civilian law enforcement,” said Maj. Matt Redmond, Cal Guard Public Affairs. “Once training is complete they will be re-located as the situation evolves.”

The guard was sent on here on orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom, he said. “At the time… there are no requests for support to Paso Robles law enforcement. The situation is very dynamic.”

“Gov. Newsom and The Adjutant General’s goals are to support requests by local leaders to assist them in protecting lives and property,” Maj. Redmond said. The soldiers are trained in riot control. If deployed to assist law enforcement, soldiers would be armed during civil unrest duties,” he said.

“We would like to thank the members of the Paso Robles community for their support,” he said. “As a former military pilot, I am aware of the noise our aircraft generate. Thank you for understanding our need to move members in and out of your community so we can safely protect the lives and property of our California neighbors.”

Joe Ontiveros says he had a busy night at the Joe’s One-Niner Diner at the Paso Robles airport. He worked until 9 p.m., seven hours after closing time. They served hot dinners to the troops when they arrived, otherwise, they would have been limited to cold MRE dinners.

Joe’s Place fed all 400 troops including Tech Sergeant Andy Ontiveros, who is Joe’s son. Andy is a C-130 Loadmaster. He brought two flights into Paso Robles, where he still lives.

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About the author: Publisher Scott Brennan

Scott Brennan is the publisher of this newspaper and founder of Access Publishing. Follow him on Twitter, LinkedIn, or follow his blog.