Naval Base Coronado (NBC) is a consolidated Navy installation encompassing eight military facilities in southern California, stretching from

San Clemente Island San Clemente Island (Tongva: ''Kinkipar''; Spanish: ''Isla de San Clemente'') is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. It is administer ...

, located 70 miles west of

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 ...

, to

Mountain Warfare Training Camp Michael Monsoor Mountain Warfare Training Camp Michael Monsoor (formerly known as La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility) is a training facility in San Diego County, California, used by the Naval Special Warfare Center. At elevation, it sits on of land ...

and

Camp Morena Camp Morena is an inland training facility of Naval Base Coronado, in the Mountain Empire region of San Diego County, California. It is located near the town of Campo, to the north of Lake Morena County Park. Camp Morena was formerly used by t ...

, located 60 miles east of San Diego.

Organization

In 1997, Naval Base Coronado was created, incorporating eight separate Naval installations under one

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

. Those facilities include:

Naval Air Station North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

(NASNI);

Naval Amphibious Base Coronado Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation in San Diego, California. The base, situated on Silver Strand between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major United States Navy shore command, supporting over 30 t ...

(NAB);

Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach Naval Outlying Landing Field (NOLF) Imperial Beach is a United States Navy facility for helicopters, situated on approximately south of San Diego and within the city limits of Imperial Beach, California. It is known as "The Helicopter Capital o ...

(NOLFIB);

Naval Auxiliary Landing Field San Clemente Island Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF) San Clemente Island , also known as Frederick C. Sherman, Frederick Sherman Field, is a military airport located on San Clemente Island in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It has been owned by th ...

(NALFSCI);

Silver Strand Training Complex Silver Strand Training Complex (SSTC) is a training facility for U.S. Special Operations Forces. Located between Imperial Beach, California, and Silver Strand State Beach near San Diego. The area is part of Naval Base Coronado and commanded by th ...

(SSTC), formerly known as the Naval Radio Receiving Facility;

(MWTCMM);

; and the Remote Training Site, Warner Springs (RTSWS). These eight facilities encompass more than 57,000 acres (230 km²) and make NBC the largest command in the southwest region of the U.S. Employing over 36,000 military and civilian personnel, NBC accounts for over 30% of the Region's total workforce, and has the largest workforce in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

Bases

;

(): NASNI is located at the north end of

Coronado Island Coronado (Spanish for "Crowned") is a resort city in San Diego County, California, United States, across San Diego Bay from downtown San Diego. It was founded in the 1880s and incorporated in 1890. Its population was 20,192 in 2020. Coronado ...

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port in San Diego County, California, near the Mexico–United States border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

and is the home port of several aircraft carriers of the

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 ...

. The installation also hosts nearly all of the Pacific Fleet's helicopter squadrons, several fixed-wing squadrons, multiple Naval Air Reserve activities and is home to both the

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) is an American naval aviation repair and maintenance facility based at the NAS North Island complex in San Diego, California. History FRCSW was established in 1919 on NAS North Island CA. It was the U.S. ...

(formerly Naval Aviation Depot North Island) and the headquarters for

Commander, Naval Air Forces The Commander, Naval Air Forces ( COMNAVAIRFOR, and CNAF; and dual-hatted as Commander, Naval Air Force, Pacific, and COMNAVAIRPAC) is the aviation Type Commander (TYCOM) for all United States Navy naval aviation units. Type Commanders are in A ...

. It is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy, the 57,000-acre (230 km²) Naval Base Coronado in

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

. ;

(): NAB is a major shore command, supporting 27 tenant commands, and is the West Coast focal point for special and expeditionary warfare training and operations. The on base population is 5,000

military personnel Military personnel or military service members are members of the state's armed forces. Their roles, pay, and obligations differ according to their military branch (army, navy, marines, coast guard, air force, and space force), rank ( office ...

(including Reserve personnel) and 7,000 military student personnel. ;

(): Formerly known as Naval Air Station Imperial Beach, NOLF IB is a facility for helicopters, situated on 1,204 acres (5 km²) approximately 14 miles (23 km) south of

and within the city limits of

Imperial Beach, California Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, south of downtown San Diego and northwest of downtown Tiju ...

. It is referred to locally as "Ream Field." It is known as "The Helicopter Capital of the World". ;

(): SCI, also known as Frederick Sherman Field, is a military airport located on

. ;

(): SSTC, located between

Imperial Beach Imperial Beach is a beach city in San Diego County, California, United States, with a population of 26,137 as of the 2020 census. It is in the South Bay area of San Diego County, south of downtown San Diego and northwest of downtown Tiju ...

and

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

is the premier training facility for the

U.S. Military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. ; SERE Training Facility Warner Springs: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape ( SERE) training for U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps flight crews, Naval Special Warfare, Marine Corps Force Recon and Marine Corps Special Operations personnel is conducted at the U.S. Navy's training site in Warner Springs, located in the Cleveland National Forest. The facility is one of two such facilities in the U.S. Navy, with an east coast counterpart facility located in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. It is in a remote area near the community of Warner Springs in the northeastern San Diego County, at an elevation of about 3200 feet. The Camp consist of a headquarters area with an administrative building, several staff barracks building, a wastewater treatment plant, and a training compound. ; Camp Michael Monsoor Mountain Warfare Training Facility: MWTF, formerly known as the La Posta Mountain Warfare Training Facility, located 50 miles east of San Diego, near the city of Campo, in

, is a 1,063 acres (4 km²) training facility used by the

Naval Special Warfare Center The Phil Bucklew Naval Special Warfare Center (NSWC, also known as "The Center") is a component command of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, United States Navy. It is sited within Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, California. The ...

. ;

(): Located north of Lake Morena County Park, near Campo, San Diego County, California.

Swastika-shaped barracks

A barracks building on the Naval Amphibious Base resembles 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 ...

symbol from the air. This was realized shortly after the 1967 groundbreaking, but no action was taken as the building was in a

no-fly zone A no-fly zone, also known as a no-flight zone (NFZ), or air exclusion zone (AEZ), is a territory or area established by a military power over which certain aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in an enemy power's terri ...

that would not be seen by passengers of commercial airlines. In 2007, members of the public noticed the shape in aerial views of

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

and the Navy announced plans to spend $600,000 on “camouflage” landscaping and rooftop adjustments. (exact co-ordinates )

References

{{reflist

External links

Naval Base Coronado website

Cnic.navy.mil: Naval Base Coronado

Coronado, California Military facilities in San Diego County, California Military in San Diego 1997 establishments in California