Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California. The base, situated on Silver Strand between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

shore command, supporting over 30 tenant commands, and is the West Coast focal point for special and

expeditionary warfare Expeditionary warfare is a military invasion of a foreign territory, especially away from established bases. Expeditionary forces were in part the antecedent of the modern concept of rapid deployment forces. Traditionally, expeditionary forces we ...

training and operations. The onbase population is 5,000 military personnel and 7,000 students and reservists. The base is one of the eight components of

Naval Base Coronado Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated Navy military base, installation encompassing eight military facilities in southern California, stretching from San Clemente Island, located 70 miles west of San Diego, to Mountain Warfare Training Camp ...

(NBC).

History

Formally commissioned in January 1944, Naval Amphibious Base (NAB), Coronado provides a shore base for the operations, training, and support of naval amphibious units on the West Coast. It is one of only two Navy amphibious training bases in the United States. NAB is approximately 1,000 acres (4 km²) in size and is composed of the Main Base, training beaches, California least tern preserve, recreational marina, enlisted family housing, and state park. State Route 75 separates NAB into surfside (ocean) and bayside sections. The majority of the bayside is composed of fill materials dredged from San Diego Bay in the early 1940s. Amphibious training is conducted on both surfside and bayside beaches. To the south of the Main Base, the majority of amphibious training activities takes place on about of ocean beachfront property, leased from the State of California. A least tern nesting preserve is located on North and South Delta Beach between the NAB Marina and Main Base. NAB is located within the city of Coronado, California, a community of approximately 30,000. The city of Coronado covers nearly of land, and NAB lies south of the main residential and commercial portions of the city. Another naval facility, Naval Air Station (NAS)

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, is located northwest of the city of Coronado. South of NAB is the Silver Strand. In June 1943, the

Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...

authorized the establishment of the Amphibious Training Base in the San Diego area to meet wartimes demands for trained

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

crews. These crews were deployed to the South Pacific area of operations, where their successful and historical efforts were contributory to the conclusion of World War II. Training for infantry coordination with naval artillery and attack aircraft was provided at the Naval Gunfire Liaison School and Support Air Control School. The streets of the base bear the names of those famous battles which led to the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

's defeat:

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, Tarawa,

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, and Bougainville, to name a few. The base has also provided training for

Underwater Demolition Team The Underwater Demolition Team (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized missions. They were predecessors of the Navy's current United States Navy SEAL, SEAL teams. Their pri ...

United States Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main func ...

, brown-water Navy personnel, and Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps midshipmen. In 1946, the base was renamed Naval Amphibious Base (NAB) Coronado and its primary mission was changed to that of providing major administrative and logistical support to the amphibious units which are located on the base. The base also conducts research and tests of newly developed amphibious equipment.

Current operations

NAB Coronado is the home to over 30 tenant commands with a population of approximately 5,000 personnel, including major commands such as Commander, Naval Surface Forces Pacific (COMNAVSURFPAC), Commander Naval Special Warfare (SPECWAR) Command and the Commander Expeditionary Warfare Training Group (EWTG) Pacific.

Major commands

* Amphibious Construction Battalion One * Assault Craft Unit One * Beachmaster Unit One *Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific *Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group One **Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit One **Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Three **Explosive Ordnance Disposal Operational Support Unit Seven (decommissioned) * Naval Special Warfare Command ** Naval Special Warfare Center *Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group One ** SEAL Team One ** SEAL Team Three ** SEAL Team Five ** SEAL Team Seven * Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group 11 (Navy Reserve) ** SEAL Team 17 (Navy Reserve) ** SEAL Team 18 (Navy Reserve) * Naval Special Warfare Group Three *Special Boat Team 12 *Commander, Tactical Air Control Group One **Tactical Air Control Squadron Eleven **Tactical Air Control Squadron 1194 (Navy Reserve) **Tactical Air Control Squadron Twelve **Tactical Air Control Squadron 1294 (Navy Reserve) *Naval Special Warfare Leadership Education and Development (NLEAD)

In the media

Naval_Amphibious_Base_Coronado_buildings

Buildings 320, 321, 322, and 323, at , have a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

-shaped plan view. This went unnoticed by the public from its construction in the 1960s until 2007 when it was spotted in aerial views on

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. Although landscaping and architectural modifications were made to obscure the shape, 2025 imagery, the latest used by Google Earth, shows no substantive change.

Education

The housing on-post is in the Coronado Unified School District, and the zones for Village Elementary School, Coronado Middle School, and Coronado High School.

References

External links

Commander Navy Installations Command - Naval Base Coronado
Official Site

GlobalSecurity.org
Vietnam Unit Monument Memorial Wall, Coronado

Link to Google Maps location
{{Authority control Amphibious Base Coronado Military facilities in San Diego County, California Military in San Diego Coronado, California San Diego Bay Military installations established in 1944 1944 establishments in California