The Morongo Basin’s largest employer is the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. Managing editor Tami Roleff says the base’s Assistant Chief of Staff Jim Ricker was at the Yucca Valley Town Council meeting Tuesday night to report on the base’s economic impact on the Morongo Basin…
According to the Combat Center’s liaison Jim Ricker, “The Combat Center is the main economic driver in the Morongo Basin and contributes an estimated $1.7 billion annually to the local economy, both directly and indirectly.” Ricker said nearly 20,000 Marines, sailors, civilian employees, and contractors work at the Combat Center in Twentynine Palms. In addition, he said, those Marines and sailors have about 7,200 family members. Many military personnel fall in love with the desert and decide to retire here. The base’s Community Impact Report states that 1,600 military and Department of Defense retirees reside in the Morongo Basin, with more than 1,000 of them living in Twentynine Palms. According to the report, the combined salaries of military service members, civilian employees, contractors, and retirees is $700 million. In addition, Combat Center wages, pensions, and contract spending indirectly support 4,600 full- and part-time jobs in the Morongo Basin, with a total payroll for these jobs of about $178 million.
