Welcome to Vandenberg
Welcome to Vandenberg Air Force Base, home of the 30th Space Wing. Our men and women operate the Western Range and manage the Department of Defense’s space and missile testing programs, placing satellites into near-polar orbit from the West Coast. We also support the Air Force’s Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test launch program. Located along the beautiful Central California coast and surrounded by mountain ranges and the Pacific Ocean, our people enjoy a quality of life unmatched anywhere else.

Sponsorship Program
Personnel are advised to use Vandenberg’s Individualized Newcomer Treatment and Orientation Program when they receive permanent change-of-station orders here. The program ensures a smooth transition and assists with orientation and scheduling. Newcomers are encouraged to complete all leave and permissive temporary duty for house hunting before signing in to the base. Try to give your sponsor a from arrival time so he can assist you upon arrival. If you do not have a sponsor, or would like more information, call (805) 606-7681. Upon arriving at Vandenberg, you will begin in-processing at the base. For more information on in-processing, call (805) 606-7756, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. At Vandenberg, Military Personnel Flight Customer Service is in Building 11777, Room C-114.

Vandenberg AFB Telephone System
To reach any Vandenberg facility from an off-base telephone, including base housing telephones, dial (805), then dial the seven-digit extension. When using on-base government telephones, dial the seven-digit extension. Defense Switched Network prefixes for Vandenberg are 275 or 276.

Forwarding Address
Forward mail to: PSC Box 2000, Vandenberg AFB, CA 93437-5000. If you are married and do not expect to live on base, you can use the General Delivery address until you establish a permanent local address. Reserve a Postal Service Center box number up to 90 days in advance by furnishing a copy of your orders to your sponsor.

Lodging
The Vandenberg Lodging Office, Building 13005 on Oregon Avenue, is open 24 hours a day. Reservation requests for families in permanent change-of-station status are made on a first-come, first-served basis. The staff confirms reservations if space is available. Make reservation requests early. Incoming and outgoing families are entitled up to 30 days of lodging if space is available. The lodging number is (805) 606-1844. House Hunting Permissive TDY Contact your gaining unit for details before visiting the local area prior to your permanent change-of-station move. The governing directive is Air Force Instruction 36-3003 and the office of primary responsibility is the Military Personnel Flight Customer Service Office at (805) 606-7756.

What to Bring
Bring enough uniforms, toiletries and living essentials to meet your needs until your unaccompanied baggage arrives. Your current Military Personnel Flight or Traffic Management Office will brief you regarding items that cannot be shipped. Don’t forget to bring along important documents, like marriage and birth certificates, legal, immunization records, insurance policies, banking and military documents, etc.

Getting to Vandenberg
Vandenberg is 68 miles north of Santa Barbara (population 90,000). The base’s nearest cities are Lompoc (population 43,000), which is seven miles southeast, and Santa Maria (population 91,000), which is 17 miles northeast.

If you drive to Vandenberg from the north, you should take U.S. Highway 101 around Santa Maria to the Clark Street exit on the southeast end of town. Take Clark Street west to the California Highway 135 Interchange South. Three miles south, Highway 135 joins State Highway 1. Highway 1 forks right and is clearly marked as the Vandenberg exit.

You arrive at the Vandenberg Main Gate and Visitor Control Center after a 10-mile drive. Visitor Control Center hours are seven days a week, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The telephone number is (805) 606-7662. From the south, take Highway 101 to the State Highway 1 turnoff, approximately 30 miles north of Santa Barbara. Take Highway 1 northwest 21 miles to Lompoc. Follow the Highway 1 road signs through Lompoc and on to Vandenberg. (Don’t turn off at the VAFB Lompoc Gate/U.S. Penitentiary Exit. Continue on Highway 1 to the Vandenberg Main Gate and California Boulevard.)

The closest commercial airports are in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara. You can catch commuter Wights from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Santa Barbara to the Santa Maria Municipal Airport. Have your sponsor meet you, or you can take a commercial taxi to the base. This is a reimbursable expense.

Greyhound Bus Lines stop regularly at the main gate from its Lompoc and Santa Maria stations.