Camp Elliot home to San Diego sheriffs training area

By Sgt. J.L. Zimmer III | Marine Corps Air Station Miramar-EMS | September 28, 2005

San Diego County Deputy Sheriff's fire their Remington 870 shotgun for annual qualification at the Honorary Deputy Sheriffs Association firing range Sept. 28, at Camp Elliot at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. The HDSA leases the site from the government at a rate of $1 per year. In exchange, the HDSA assists Marines and other servicemembers with specialized training and small arms tactics free of charge. Photo by Sgt. J.L. Zimmer III

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- The eastern side of Interstate 15, Kearney Villa Road and Highway 163 hosts an array of training facilities for Marines and Sailors of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

But one of the first locations down the four-mile stretch of road also houses a training area for the men and women of the San Diego Sheriffs Department and America's Finest.

The Honorary Deputy Sheriffs Association has been using a small portion of East Miramar since 1968 to train San Diego sheriffs and police officers in the use of small arms and riot control tactics.

"More than 40 different agencies use this facility on a regular basis," said Sgt. John Pokorny, weapons training unit, SDSD. "We have everything from sheriffs to military groups come out here. We have a symbiotic relationship with the military that has a long history."

Pokorny is a lifelong resident of San Diego and can remember artillery practicing on the hills at Camp Elliott.

"This area used to be a small arms training facility. There were more than 80 ranges in Camp Elliott for military training," Pokorny said. "Everything from grenades to mortars were dropped out here, so I guess there is a lot of historical significance to this being here."

Corporal Doug Tomkiel, instructor, weapons training unit, has seen several military training exercises courtesy of the San Diego sheriffs.

"Whatever training the military police have asked for we have tried to give them," Tomkiel said. "We have sent them through small arms training, run scenarios with them and given special weapons and tactics training. Most of the time they train themselves."

Because of current operational tempo, the HDSA sees fewer military personnel training at their ranges.

"Specialized training doesn't happen on a regular basis because of the war, but we do have a military presence with the K9 units doing training in the rubble piles," Pokorny said. "Reserve units used to come out and do gas training before the war in Iraq."

The HDSA and the military have continued to nurture their symbiotic relationship that has spanned more than 35 years. The cost for the sheriffs to operate the facility is miniscule compared to the mutual benefits gained.

"We are on a (reduced rate) lease with the government. The HDSA supports us with the help of a small amount of money from the county," Pokorny said. "But we provide whatever we can to the military for their service. From SWAT and K9 to accident investigation training, a lot of stuff is given back to the military for letting us stay here."

One of the reasons the HDSA is so supportive of the military is because the sheriffs are a paramilitary organization.

"Military members are used to organization and structure. That is why some of them go into law enforcement," said Pokorny. "We go the extra mile for the military because we get a lot of our people from the military."