Military

Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Navy

Honor, Courage, Commitment:

OUR MILITARY

The First Coast’s military presence provides a community full of stability and diversity. As the third largest military presence in the country, the area is home to more than 50,000 active-duty and civilian contractors stationed at the area’s three naval bases: Naval Station Mayport, Naval Air Station Jacksonville and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. The First Coast is also home to Marine Corps Blount Island Command, Camp Blanding Army Base and the United States Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville. The local economic impact of the Navy generates more than $10 billion annually. The job force is very open to veterans with many businesses being veteran owned as well as veteran employed. Annual events are held throughout the year to honor those who have served or serve such as the job fairs for veterans and the largest Veterans Day Parade in the state of Florida.

Naval Station Mayport

Box 280032, Mayport www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrse/installations/ns_mayport.html Located near the small fishing village of Mayport, Florida, Naval Station Mayport (NS Mayport) is situated at the mouth of the St. Johns River and Atlantic Ocean. NS Mayport is one of the three major Navy Installations on the First Coast. It is home to the Navy’s 4th Fleet and is the third largest naval facility in the continental U.S. The naval station’s harbor can hold up to 34 ships and the facility covers more than 3,400 acres. The station’s 8,000-foot runway can handle any type of Department of Defense aircraft. The airfield is operated and maintained by NS Mayport’s Air Operations Department, which conducts more than 100,000 helicopter and fixed-wing flights each year. The NS Mayport Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department provides first-rate facilities, services, activities and recreational programs. Both active-duty and civilian contractors can enjoy the warm climate of the First Coast throughout the year with outdoor recreation available both on and off the base including fishing, boating, hiking and camping.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville

6801 Roosevelt Blvd., Jacksonville www.cnic.navy.mil/jacksonville Situated on the St. Johns River on the Westside of Jacksonville, Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is the largest Navy base in the Southeast and third largest in the nation. NAS Jacksonville is home to almost 4,000 acres that encompass the area and is also an operational headquarters for more than 100 tenant commands. The annual regional impact of the base is a large part of the area’s economy at $2.1 billion. Home to the largest squadron in the Navy, the Patrol Squadron Thirty (VP-30), the Navy base received the 2012 Presidential Excellence Award and the 2013 Commander, Navy Installations Command Excellence Award. There are many major tenants on the base including the Naval Supply Fleet Logistics Center, Naval Hospital Jacksonville; Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast; Fleet Readiness Center Southeast; Navy Region Southeast; and the Commander. The base is also home to the Blue Angels who are world famous for their brave aerial maneuvers that can be seen yearly at the NAS Jacksonville Air Show.

NAS Jacksonville, photo courtesy of U.S. Dept. of the Navy

Photo courtesy of City of Jacksonville Photo courtesy of Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay

The Blue Angels, photo courtesy of the U.S. Dept. of the Navy

Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay

1063 USS Tennessee Ave., Kings Bay, GA www.cnic.navy.mil/kingsbay Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is located approximately 38 miles away from Jacksonville, adjacent to the city of St. Marys in Georgia. This base is the home port for the U.S. Navy Fleet ballistic missile nuclear submarines that are capable of being equipped with the Trident missile. The base covers more than 16,000 acres with 4,000 of those acres as protected wetlands. For those living on base, there are many programs offered by Morale, Welfare and Recreation including dining, childcare, bowling and a golf course. The major base commands include the Strategic Weapons Facility Atlantic, Trident Refit Facility, Trident Training Facility, Submarine Group 10 and the Naval Submarine Support Center. Currently on the base there are eight Ohio-class submarines including two guided missiles and six ballistic missiles.

United States Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville

10426 Alta Dr., Jacksonville www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil Located on six acres of land nearby to NS Mayport, the United States Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville is accountable for 40,000 square miles of ocean and island waterways. This spans 190 miles of coastline starting at Kings Bay, Georgia to Port Malabar, Florida and is the responsibility of Sector Jacksonville. As the sub-office to the Coast Guard’s 7th District Headquarters in Miami, the Multi-Mission Mayport and Security Detachment Mayport are utilized as well as Station Cape Canaveral and Station Ponce de Leon Inlet. Since the U.S. President can transfer any or all assets of the Coast Guard to the Department of the Navy during times of war or conflict, the Coast Guard is considered a military service.

Blount Island Command

5880 Channel View Blvd., Jacksonville www.bic.marines.mil Operated by the logistics base of the Marine Corps located in Albany, Georgia, Blount Island Command is one of the latest U.S. bases built and is located in Jacksonville. The purpose of the base was not originally to act as a base but was created for maintenance operations for maritime ships making it a logistics base. Since this is a logistics base, it has more than 33 acres for storage and a 1,000foot pier and maintenance operation area, as well as a slipway with space for five vessel berths. The base plans, coordinates and executes logistics procedures of ships that are used in various operations that have a military or humanitarian purpose.

Camp Blanding Joint Training Center

5629 FL-16 W., Starke www.fl.ng.mil/commands/Pages/Camp-Blanding-Joint-

Training-Center Located about 38 miles from Jacksonville, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center (CBJTC) in Starke, Florida is a 73,000 acre training center. It serves as a Continuity of Government site for the Governor and Executive Branch and a Continuity of Operations site for the Florida Division of Emergency Management for Joint Forces Headquarters-Florida. The base is also a logistical support base during emergency operations and is a joint reception, staging and onward integration site. Due to this, the Camp has been used for multiple federal homeland and overseas operations. As the premier domestic and combat training facility in the Southeastern U.S., the camp focuses on Unified Land Operations and offers training to Unified Action partners.