Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar, previouslyNaval Station Poro Point, is an installation of thePhilippine Navy, located atPoro Point, inSan Fernando, La Union,Philippines. It was previously a U.S. installation known asWallace Air Station; transfer of ownership took place in 1991.
The Poro Point installation occupied 101 hectares and was acquired in 1903 for theUnited States Cavalry. Originally,Camp Wallace, the facility was named in honor ofSecond LieutenantGeorge W. Wallace, aMedal of Honor recipient from theU.S. 9th Infantry Regiment for actions on March 4, 1900, in the Philippines. In November 1903,PresidentTheodore Roosevelt signed anexecutive order establishing Camp Wallace andCamp John Hay inBaguio.
The land was later transferred to theUnited States Air Force and it was last home to the 848th Air Defense Squadron (ADS), which provided logistics and administrative support to other radar detachments. The 848th ADS was originally the 848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron which provided logistics and administrative support to other radar detachments under itschain of command. It was redesignated as the 848th Air Defense Squadron on November 22, 1989. Wallace Air Station and the squadron were inactivated in 1991 following the closing or transfer of allUnited States Department of Defense facilities in the Philippines.
Wallace was also home to aRyan Firebee Drone Launch Facility, run by an Air Force contractor. This facility and the associated 1st Test Squadron "COMBAT SAGE" program providedPacific Air Forces pilots with live-fire training. Since the drones were not usually destroyed when they were shot down, there was a need to recover them for reuse. Hence, HH-3E helicopters manned byAir Force Parajumpers from the31st Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron based at nearbyClark Air Base and a drone recovery boat (1604) with its home port in the local harbor at nearby San Fernando were always on hand to recover the drones.
During each launch, numerous "banca boats" (outrigger bamboo canoes), were close by and always in the chase to recover theJATO bottle dropped by a drone after takeoff. They are worth a few pesos paid by the contractor.
Wallace Air Station was also home to a number of fuel storage facilities, and was able to provide fuel for the occasionalhelicopter, usually a fewCH-3s fromClark Air Base, or an occasionalUnited States Navy helicopter from theSubic Bay Naval Base.UH-1 helicopters from thePhilippine Air Force would also show up, but not too often, since there was not enough budget for operating them. For larger aircraft such asC-12s orC-130s, the USAF would always use theSan Fernando Airport.
Wallace is also home toVoice of America broadcast equipment, as well as various Philippine Air Forceantennas.
The facility was formally turned-over by the United States to the Republic of the Philippines on September 16, 1991. It became the headquarters of the Naval Forces Northern Luzon (NAVFORNOL) of thePhilippine Navy called Poro Point Naval Station. It was later renamed to Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar after the former Navy chief.[1]
In November 2014, Commander Severino David took over the Navy's Northern Luzon Command based at Poro Point. David replaced Commander Nodolfo Tejada who retired after serving for 37 years.[2]
On December 20, 2023, a newly-constructed radar facility was inaugurated at the station. The radar facility featured the first FPS-3ME air surveillance radar delivered by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation to the Philippine Air Force under a deal signed in 2020.[3][4]
16°37′14″N120°16′50″E / 16.62056°N 120.28056°E /16.62056; 120.28056
