Located 42 miles north of San Diego International Airport (Lindbergh Field) and 88 miles south of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Camp Pendleton is home to Marine Corps Installations West-Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, I Marine Expeditionary Force, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Logistics Group and many tenant units, including Marine Aircraft Group 39 and School of Infantry-West.

From San Diego International Airport

If you are coming from San Diego, take Interstate 5 north toward Los Angeles. Once in Oceanside, take the Camp Pendleton exit, which will lead you to the main gate. If you are coming from Los Angeles, take Interstate 5 south toward San Diego. Once in Oceanside, take the Oceanside Harbor Drive exit and make a left to the main gate.

The Camp Pendleton Naval Hospital is just inside the main gate.

The Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton’s health services phone line is 760-725-HELP (4357) (7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed on weekends and federal holidays).

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) is comprised of Business Operations (retail shopping, food services, contracted services, temporary lodging facilities and commercial recreation); Marine & Family Programs (active-duty, family and retiree programs and services); and Semper Fit (recreational activities including fitness centers, Single Marine Program and more). In addition, MCCS Camp Pendleton maintains support divisions, including Financial Management, Human Resources, Logistics, Procurement and Marketing. MCCS (formerly MWR) supports our active-duty members, families and retirees through shopping, events, programs, recreational services and family services. MCCS is dedicated to the support of our military and strives to maintain readiness during and after this current wartime footing. For more information, visit us at www.mccsCP.com.

The Athletics Department provides organized sports opportunities for Marines, sailors, authorized patrons and youth athletes at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton under the direct supervision of the athletic director, deputy director and director of the Semper Fit Division. The athletics program provides our customers, regardless of skill or experience level, an opportunity to take part in a competitive sports program of varying levels to include Intramural Sports, Varsity Sports, All Marine Sports, All Armed Forces Sports, international-level competitions and Youth Sports. This program helps promote combat readiness, esprit de corps, leadership, teamwork and loyalty.

This division of MCCS consists of more than 600 professionals — certified counselors, administrators and technicians — whose goal is to make every Marine, sailor and their family members highly successful in life. The Information and Referral office in Building 13150 can refer you to the following programs. For more information, call 760-725-3400/6090 or visit www.mccsCP.com. Marine & Family Programs consists of four branches: Behavioral Health, Family Care, Family Readiness and Personal & Professional Development.

Marine Corps Installations West and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton merged into a single command April 5, 2012. Marine Corps Installations West consists of five Marine Corps bases and stations in the Southwestern United States, including MCB Camp Pendleton, MCAS Camp Pendleton, MCAS Miramar, MCAS Yuma and MCLB Barstow. MCI West also performs various support functions for MCAGCC Twentynine Palms, MWTC Bridgeport and MCRD San Diego. MCI West provides the installation and training infrastructure to enable Marine Corps air and ground forces to develop and sustain operational readiness. To this end, the primary mission is to support training, sustaining and deploying the warfighter and to provide their families with services that enrich their lives.

Located in the 31 Area, the Marine Corps Tactical Support Systems Activity (MCTSSA) is a subordinate command of the Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Employing more than 400 military and civilian personnel, MCTSSA provides a broad spectrum of subject matter expertise (SME) in support of Command, Control, Computer, Communication and Intelligence (C4I) systems used by the U.S. Marine Corps. For the U.S. Marine Corps’ C4I systems, MCTSSA provides test and evaluation, engineering and support to the operating forces.

The Assault Amphibian School Battalion (Building 210568) is by the Del Mar Boat Basin, facing the Del Mar Beach in the 21 Area. The battalion is composed of two companies, Support Company and Schools Company. The battalion commander is also the 21 Area commander for Camp Del Mar, CampPendleton.

Spanish explorer Don Gasper de Portola first scouted the area where Camp Pendleton is located in 1769. He named the Santa Margarita Valley in honor of St. Margaret of Antioch, after sighting it July 20, St. Margaret’s Day. The Spanish land grants, the Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores y San Onofre, came in existence. Custody of these lands was originally held by the Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, southeast of Pendleton, and eventually came into the private ownership of Pio Pico and his brother, Andre, in 1841.

MCB Camp Pendleton and its surrounding communities, most of which are in San Diego County, date to the nomadic Indian tribes that once inhabited the area. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese navigator hired by Spain, explored the coast of California and in 1542, sailed into the harbor of what is now San Diego. In 1812, California underwent a change when Mexico gained its independence from Spain. San Diego was still regarded as an agricultural center rather than an aspiring city such as Los Angeles, 100 miles to the north. Not until 1850, when the United States finally gained control of California, did both the cities of San Diego and Los Angeles become incorporated.

Story by LCpl Bradley Morrow on 09/22/2016

During their visit, members of the MMA participated with Marines in training exercises, received hands-on experience testing rifles and interacted with Marines as they conducted several training events.

More than 30 personnel from the ARNORTH San Antonio team, the San Diego County Hazardous Incident Response Team, the U.S. Army's 9th Civil Support Team and the Camp Pendleton Fire Department HAZMAT team participated in the exercise.

Story by Cpl Medina Ayala-Lo on 09/15/2016

"This event is held annually and functions as our pre-season game," said George Schadgg, sports specialist, MCCS Sports. "It's allows our staff, the officials and the players, to see how everything is going to work during the regular season."