The History of the Southern California Recruiting Battalion
The Southern California Recruiting Battalion is headquartered in Mission Viejo, California. The officers, Soldiers, and civilians who are the soul of the battalion are dedicated to providing qualified young men and women for service in the Active Army and Army Reserve.
Santa Ana Recruiting Main Station was the official name from 1972, deriving its name from the city of Santa Ana, its initial location. The unit was formed during an expansion of the recruiting command to 60 RMSs with the institution of the All-Volunteer Army in 1972. It was redesignated Santa Ana District Recruiting Command on 1 May 1974. The headquarters moved from Santa Ana to Laguna Niguel in December 1976. As part of a USAREC-wide realignment designed to move USAREC closer to the mainstream Army, region and district recruiting commands became brigades and battalions respectively, and on 1 October 1983, the name changed to U.S. Army Santa Ana Recruiting Battalion.
In November 1989, the battalion headquarters moved to its present location in Mission Viejo. The battalion changed its name in October 1995 to its current designation, the U.S. Army Southern California Recruiting Battalion, and reorganized into six recruiting companies, 44 recruiting stations, and one on-campus recruiter.
Today, the battalion is comprised of seven recruiting companies, and 45 stations covering more than 40,000 square miles of Southern California terrain.
The battalion’s area of responsibility runs from the International Border with Mexico at the south to the San Bernardino Mountains in the north, including the National Training Center. The western border is the Pacific Ocean and the eastern demarcation lines are shared with the state’s Nevada and Arizona borders.
Recruiters are the heart of the Southern California Recruiting Battalion. Through their efforts, the Army continues to maintain its fighting strength by receiving bright, well-motivated men and women who join the Army to train and serve our great nation.