Home / MCAS El Toro ) From Blizzards To Lizards
My journey from the East Coast snow belt to the sunny beaches of Southern California By Marc "Devil Dog Of The Web" Iseli / Updated Dec. 2025 October 28, 1979, 1600 hours: time to trade in my snow shovel for a beach towel and launch myself into the Marine Corps’ version of The Twilight Zone. I left behind the East Coast blizzards and the questionable wisdom of my hometown, figuring I’d toughen up or get eaten alive. My flight to MCAS El Toro got hijacked by the Santa Ana winds and dumped in Las Vegas, because apparently the Corps wanted me to start my career with a detour through Sin City. We finally landed in LA at midnight, and I grabbed a cab to El Toro. The cabbie circled the base like he was looking for the lost city of Atlantis, all while running up my tab. When I finally stumbled in, it was pitch black, so I checked in and hit the rack. The next morning, I opened the door and nearly blinded myself on the California sun. There were these monster mountains out there, and later found out they were called the Saddleback Mountains. Welcome to MCAS El Toro, boot. )
From 1980 to 1983, I called MCAS El Toro home, back when it was still the Master Jet Base and not just a future green park with a runway problem. This place was the beating heart of Marine aviation on the Left Coast, before OC suburban sprawl started breathing down our necks. El Toro was HQ for the 3rd MAW, and it wasn’t just a place to park jets; it was the Corps’ own version of Mission Control. Our job? Blow stuff up, keep the skies clear of Ivan, and snap photos of anything that moved. Reagan was busy flexing, so the base was buzzing with more training ops than a boot camp on Red Bull. If you pulled duty at El Toro in 1980, you were living in the Corps’ own version of the Truman Show. The base had everything: stables, bowling alleys, and the Officers’ Club, where aviators went to swap lies and pretend they weren’t terrified of the next flight schedule. Built in 1942 in the middle of lima bean country, by the 80s we were surrounded by Irvine and Lake Forest, which were sprouting houses faster than a boot grows blisters. The locals started whining about jet noise, which eventually got the whole place shut down in 1999. Thanks for nothing, suburbia. Back in the early 80s, the El Toro Air Show was the Super Bowl of tactical aviation, except with more jet fuel and fewer wardrobe malfunctions. Two million people would show up just to watch the Blue Angels tear up the sky in their A-4s and see Marines blow stuff up with enough pyrotechnics to make Hollywood jealous. The combined-arms demos were basically a beach landing, minus the sand fleas. And from 1980 to 1983, the real showstopper was the public’s first look at the F/A-18 Hornet, which made every aviation geek lose their mind.  1980s MCAS El Toro 3rd Marine Air Groups Mag 11, Mag 13, MWSG-37 El Toro Base Map 1979 MCAS El Toro Base Map. El Toro Base Paper, PDF Flight Jacket 28 Oct. 1988. Courtesy Lt.Col. Larry Rannels. 80s Air Shows Videos, Mishaps and Photos History Of Base Insignia Designed By Walt Disney Studios Liberty Call Beautiful Beaches, Famous Attractions, Endless Sunny Days. Visit My Photo Album Photos of MCAS El Toro, CA. 1980's.
FlashForward 1999 MCAS El Toro Decommission Photos Of MCAS El Toro abandoned today.
Notable Events Special Air Missions Early 70s MCAS El Toro was regularly used for flight operations by Special Air Missions during President Richard Nixon's term in office, in support of the "Western White House", Nixon's home at San Clemente. The final Nixon flights were, first, when he landed there upon resigning the White House in 1974, and again, after his death in 1994, when his body was flown to California for burial. He flew both times in his Air Force One LCpl. Howard Foote Jr 24 April, 1988 21 year old Marine LCpl. Howard Foote Jr., an aviation mechanic at El Toro, took an A4 Skyhawk on an unauthorized 90 minute joyride over southern California. Foote, an accomplished glider pilot, was despondent after recently learning that due to a medical condition he would never be able to fly in the Marines. Colonel James Sabow 22 January, 1991 Marine Corps Colonel James Sabow was found dead amid allegations of base corruption from misused aircraft from commanding officers using military aircraft for personal use to military aircraft used on missions to Central America where weapons were delivered and cash and or drugs were brought back to the base to be used to finance the arms. The military investigators determined that a suicide in Col. Sabow's death, whereas competent civilian investigations revealled a murder 2026 World Cup Base Camp 2026: In a modern twist for the site, the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team has selected the Great Park area (the former air station grounds) as its base camp for the 2026 World Cup.
Alright, you glorious Rat Phixers and Phlyers, if we ever survived a TAD, a Det, or a BOHICA, who haven't, and you didn’t think I was the biggest gaff off in the squadron. Got a sea story, or some grainy photos your ex didn’t set on fire, and they’re only slightly illegal? Send ‘em by email, snail mail, or safety wire it to a carrier pigeon. I collect ‘em all, just nothing that would incriminate me. 80svmfp3@gmail.com Return To The Home Page  |
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