USAF, SMC, LAAFB Review

Awesome produce, not crowded, friendly staff, great prices

Base exchange, thrift store gas station and commissary. Great shopping, great customer service. All tax free!

Would anyone happen to know if there are any Army personnel at this base? and if so any contacts?

Some journalists were taking pictures from the public sidewalk, when the Los Angeles Air Force Police started to shine high intensity lights into their eyes & cameras, which is both dangerous and against their own policy. Unprofessional does not begin to describe it...

The folks at the Visitor Control Center (VCC) are some of the most unhelpful people. Additionally, it was impossible to reach the pass/ID office by phone.

If you had this experience and are reading this please give it a like. Hopefully we can gain some traction and get this process fixed.

Here's what Happened:

I recently transitioned from Active Duty to the Reserves and was here to get a new Common Access Card (CAC). I was allowed to keep my old CAC when I outprocessed, however it was no longer in the system. The gate guard informed me of this and directed me to get a day pass at the VCC.

I received a note from the guards and they informed me that the VCC rep would issue me a pass so I could proceed onto base for my RAPIDS ID card appointment. At the VCC, the rep informed me that the note from the guard shack alone would not be enough for him issue me a pass. He said I would need to call the pass/ID office to get verification.

I informed him that the pass/ID office is difficult to reach by phone. He told me to call over and over again until I got through. Not wanting to be abrasive, I obliged. I called the office numerous times each time going through the phone tree.

I informed him that they were not picking up. He said there is nothing he could do to help and shrugged. I'm not sure why he could not give the pass/ID office a call to confirm himself, as I am sure there are many others, contractors especially, that would find themselves in this exact situation. Either way he handled this poorly. The rep was clear that he could not be bothered with the clearly dysfunctional process.

I'm writing this to document the broken process in hopes someone in a position to remedy this problem sees it and takes it for action.

I came on base to check out their commissary. The food court is pretty much just fast food - nothing special there and the goods is also pretty standard.

I do appreciate the gym though! The gym is really well setup with multiple rooms, classes, etc. Very clean and open - appreciated!

Nice little base has everything you need Gym Commissary and Exchange.

The BX is not the biggest but sufficient for what you are looking for. The commissary has everything you are looking for in groceries. The gym is excellent has all you need for physical fitness. If you complain about retirees using it, I hope you never get to retire. If you need the Pharmacy, bring sleeping bag because it takes forever to get medication. Overall it s excellent.

Nice little base with a commissary and small BX which retirees need.
However, the base pharmacy is poorly managed and claim COVID19 is the excuse for manpower shortage so prescriptions are often not filled on time or at all. Recommend the base commander investigate this matter before the media ect. find a reason to examine the entitled benefits due to retirees and others.