Naval Air Facility El Centro, located near El Centro in Imperial County, California, was established in 1946 to take advantage of the clear desert skies of the Imperial Valley for year-round aviation training. The facility serves as the primary West Coast site for carrier air wing carrier landing qualification (CARQUALS) and carrier landing practice, with Navy and Marine Corps aviation squadrons regularly rotating through El Centro for carrier qualification and weapons training. The facility also hosts the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron for winter training. Cold War-era and postwar construction at NAF El Centro used military construction materials including asbestos-containing building products in the hangars, maintenance facilities, and support buildings where naval aviation personnel trained and worked.

Cold War Facility Construction and Asbestos

NAF El Centro’s Cold War construction incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Training hangars and maintenance facilities — the aircraft maintenance hangars and line shack facilities at El Centro used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing roofing, asbestos floor tile, and asbestos ceiling materials in the aviation support building stock. Naval aviators and maintenance ratings conducting carrier qualification training at El Centro worked in these asbestos-containing hangars and maintenance facilities during training rotations
  • Weapons and ordnance training support facilities — the weapons loading and ordnance handling support buildings at El Centro used military construction with asbestos-containing materials in the ordnance support facility building stock
  • Barracks and temporary quarters — the transient quarters and barracks at El Centro used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling products, and pipe insulation in the residential facility mechanical systems

Desert Training Operations and Carrier Qualification

El Centro’s carrier qualification training created specific exposure patterns:

  • Carrier air wing training rotations — carrier air wings rotating through El Centro for carrier landing qualification and weapons training deployed significant numbers of aviation maintenance and support personnel who worked in and around the El Centro facility’s asbestos-containing maintenance and support buildings during the training detachment periods

VA Claims for NAF El Centro Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at naval air facilities. Navy and Marine Corps personnel who served at NAF El Centro and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.