Coast Guard Base Alameda also referred to as Coast Guard Island is an

artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

in the

Oakland Estuary The Oakland Estuary is the strait in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, separating the cities of Oakland, California, Oakland and Alameda, California, Alameda and the Alameda (island), Alameda Island from the East Bay mainland. On its weste ...

between

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

and Alameda,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It is home to several major

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

commands and cutters, including the Coast Guard Pacific Area. It is one of the largest Coast Guard bases on the West Coast. From 1942 until 1982, the island was the site of the Coast Guard's recruiting training center (boot camp), enlisting and training hundreds of thousands of coast guardsmen including many of the 214,239 who served in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and European Theaters of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

is situated in the historic Brooklyn Basin, now known as Embarcadero Cove. It is within Alameda city limits, but is tied to land only via a bridge from Dennison Street in

Tenant commands

The island houses a number of U.S. Coast Guard commands and its facilities are managed by Base Alameda. Over 1200 personnel are assigned to the island. Area commands include: * Pacific Area and Defense Force West * Maritime Intelligence Fusion Center Pacific (MIFC-PAC) * Sector San Francisco (Prevention Department; the remainder of Sector San Francisco is housed at nearby

Yerba Buena Island Yerba Buena Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Yerba Buena'') sits in San Francisco Bay within the borders of the City and County of San Francisco. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Fran ...

) * Pacific Regional Fisheries Training Center (formerly known as Training Team West) *

Maritime Safety and Security Team A Maritime Safety and Security Team, or MSST, is a counter-terrorism team of the United States Coast Guard established to protect local Marine (ocean), maritime assets. It is also a harbor and inshore patrol and security team that includes Anti ...

91105 (MSST 91105) It is also the homeport for four Legend-class cutters: * USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750) * USCGC Waesche (WMSL-751) *

USCGC Stratton (WMSL-752) USCGC ''Stratton'' (WMSL-752) is the third of the United States Coast Guard. It is the first "white hull" cutter named after a woman since the 1980s ( was launched in 1984). ''Stratton'' is named for Coast Guard Captain Dorothy C. Stratton (1899 ...

* USCGC Munro (WMSL-755) Coast Guard Island also houses and supports a number of other Coast Guard commands with detachments or regional offices located on the island, including: *

Coast Guard Investigative Service The Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) is a division of the United States Coast Guard that investigates crimes where the U.S. Coast Guard has an interest. It is composed of civilian ( GS-1811), active duty, reserve enlisted, and warrant o ...

(CGIS) Pacific Region * Legal Service Command West * Personnel Service Center Detachment Alameda * Coast Guard Office of Civil Rights Detachment Region 3 * Coast Guard Office of Civilian Human Resources (CG-121), Human Resources Operations Division, Human Resources Center-West * Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC) Detachment Alameda * Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center Detachment Alameda * Coast Guard Office of Contingency and Deployable Logistics, DOL-42 (

Pacific Area Coast Guard Pacific Area & Defense Forces West (PACAREA) is an Area Command of the United States Coast Guard, a regional command element and force provider tasked with maritime safety, security, and stewardship throughout the Pacific. The comma ...

) and DOL-43 ( (Atlantic Area) * Atlantic Area International Port Security Detachment Alameda * Electronic Support Detachment (ESD) Alameda Coast Guard Electronic Support Unit (ESU) Alameda and Naval Engineering Support Unit (NESU) Alameda were also located on the island until those units were decommissioned in 2013. The functions and capabilities of the units remain as departments within Base Alameda. The facilities on Coast Guard Island also include an Integrated Support Command (ISC), enlisted

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

, a medical and dental clinic, and public works facilities to service the island.

History and formation

Originally known as Government Island, this artificial island was formed in 1913 by the

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

project that extended the Oakland Estuary to San Leandro Bay. The Coast Guard first came to the island in 1926 when it established "Base 11" under an

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...

signed in September 1931 that gave title to a tract for a permanent base. Improvements were started at that time and by 1933 included streets, utilities, spur tracks, a trestle bridge from Oakland, a transformer station, and rebuilding of the existing wharves. The cost was more than one and a half million dollars and provided facilities for Base 11 and the Coast Guard Store (warehouses).

Establishment

The shore establishment expanded in 1939 with the amalgamation of the Lighthouse Service. A training center was established in 1940 to meet the service's increased personnel needs. An area of was acquired from the City of Alameda in 1939 with an additional purchased by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1942. The entire island of was devoted to training center facilities. The first contract provided for five barracks, mess hall and galley, engineering and administration buildings, an infirmary, roadways, heating, plumbing, electrical and fire protection. The contract was awarded February 21, 1942 and completed June 30, 1942 at a cost of $1,680,082.94. Additional contracts for another half million dollars provided for additional barracks, clothing issue building, paving a drill field, band room, incinerator, anti-aircraft trainer building, and docks for small boats.

Recruit Training Center

The training center was first opened on June 1, 1942, with accommodations for 900 men. It was solely to train recruits. Specialty training was added later to include fireman,

signalman A signalman is a rank who makes signals using flags and light. The role has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed forces, or construction (to direct heavy equi ...

, laundryman,

radioman Radioman (RM) was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology. History of the rating The rating was created originally in 1921. In 1997, under the direction of Ch ...

, boatswain's mate, cooks and bakers, and

port security Port security is part of a broader definition concerning maritime security. It refers to the defense, law and treaty enforcement, and Counterterrorism activities that fall within the port and maritime domain. It includes the protection of the se ...

. After the

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

, Government Island remained a Coast Guard Training Center with addition of the Weather Bureau, Internal Auditors, and the Bureau of Roads. During the late 1960s the Training & Supply Center was the Coast Guard's largest field unit on the West Coast. The Training Center graduated 60-100 seaman apprentices and fireman apprentices each week. The Supply Center provided support to the western area districts including Squadron One and Squadron Three in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. The cutters '' Taney'', '' Gresham'', and '' Barataria'' were homeported on the island at the time. In 1982, the Training Center was closed and recruit training was moved to

United States Coast Guard Training Center Cape May United States Coast Guard Training Center Cape May (TRACENCM) is the home of the Coast Guard enlisted corps and is the Coast Guard's only enlisted accession point and recruit training center. It is located at 1 Munro Avenue, Cape May, New Jersey. ...

, New Jersey, where it remains today. Support Center Alameda was established June 1, 1982 and the island was renamed Coast Guard Island. The Coast Guard Pacific Area, Coast Guard 11th District (then known as Coast Guard 12th District), and Marine Safety Office San Francisco moved from downtown San Francisco to the island. On June 24, 1987, Maintenance & Logistics Command Pacific was established and located on the island until its decommissioning. The Support Center was redesignated as Integrated Support Command Alameda on March 15, 1996, and today is Base Alameda.

Notable Commanders

Era

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

A. J. Carpenter, Commanding Officer of Alameda and District 3. *

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Era

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Henry P. Kniskern, Commanding Officer *

Michael L. Woolard, Commanding Officer 2011–2015. *

Jonathan P. Hickey, Commanding Officer 2015–2018.

References

External links

Coast Guard description
{{Authority control Geography of Alameda, California Islands of Alameda County, California Islands of Northern California United States Coast Guard bases Military facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area Islands of San Francisco Bay