Travis Air Force Base says incident was ‘false alarm’ during two-day exercise

Travis Air Force Base officials said Tuesday that a “possible real world security incident” was false alarm and that reports of a shooter on the base were unfounded.

“There were reports of potential gun shots near the Supply Warehouse and therefore, the base immediately responded to ensure the safety of all its personnel, dependents, and retirees,” according to a base news release sent at 11:25 a.m.

Initial reports surfaced around 11 a.m. during a scheduled exercise on the 10-mile-square base, which was previously announced, when officials confirmed emergency personnel were responding to a “possible real world security incident.”

“These exercise mean everyone on base is on heightened awareness,” said Col. Jeffrey Nelson, 60th Air Mobility Wing commander in a statement emailed to The Sacramento Bee. “Though is was a false alarm, our first responders reacted quickly and appropriately. We take every security incident very seriously.”

The base, home to the nation’s largest air mobility force, is situated near Fairfield about 40 miles southwest of Sacramento. There are roughly 7,300 active duty personnel on the base, mostly from the Air Force, as well as more than 3,000 reserve personnel there.

Travis is known for its versatile fleet of heavy air transporters, from C-5 Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster airlift units to a squadron of KC-10 refueling planes.

The base’s economic impact to Solano County is worth more than $1.4 billion to the region and it employs an additional 3,700 civilian personnel, according to base officials.

This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 11:25 AM.