Naval Station Mayport
Admiral David L. McDonald Field
Mayport, Florida in the United States
Aerial view of NS Mayport during 2009
NS Mayport is located in the United States
NS Mayport
NS Mayport
Location in the United States
Coordinates30°23′31″N 81°25′25″W / 30.39194°N 81.42361°W / 30.39194; -81.42361
TypeNaval Base and Naval Air Station
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
OperatorUS Navy
Controlled byNavy Region Southeaest
ConditionOperational
WebsiteOfficial website
Site history
Built1939–1942
In useDecember 1942 (1942) – present
Garrison information
Current
commander		Captain Brian A. Binder
GarrisonUnited States Fourth Fleet
Airfield information
IdentifiersIATA: NRB, ICAO: KNRB, FAA LID: NRB, WMO: 722066
Elevation15 ft (0 m) AMSL
Runways
Direction Length and surface
5/23 8,001 ft (2,440 m) Asphalt
Source: FAA,[1] official site[2]
Aerial view of Naval Station Mayport in 1993 with Saratoga and Constellation.

Naval Station Mayport (IATA: NRB, ICAO: KNRB, FAA LID: NRB) is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admiral David L. McDonald Field) with one asphalt paved runway (5/23) measuring 8,001 ft × 200 ft (2,439 m × 61 m).[1]

Base history

Naval Station Mayport

The station was commissioned in December 1942. It was reclassified as a Naval Sea Frontier base in 1943.[3] A new naval auxiliary air station (NAAS) was established in April 1944. The naval section Base and the NAAS supported the Atlantic Fleet during World War II. Both were closed after the war. In June 1948, Mayport was reestablished as a naval outlying landing field. The base area was increased to 1,680 acres (680 ha) and the runway was extended in the mid 1950s.

USS Tarawa became the first capital ship to use the new aircraft carrier basin in October 1952. The Base was renamed back to a Naval Auxiliary Air Station in July 1955. The naval station was extended to accommodate more ships, sailors and their families and redesignated as a naval air station in 1988.

NS Mayport has grown to become the third-largest naval surface fleet concentration area in the United States. The station has a busy harbor capable of accommodating 34 ships and an 8,001-foot (2,439 m) runway capable of handling most aircraft in the Department of Defense inventory.

Naval Station Mayport is also home to the Navy's U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / United States Fourth Fleet, reactivated in 2008 after being deactivated in 1950.

The base has historically served as the homeport to various conventionally powered aircraft carriers of the United States Atlantic Fleet, including Shangri-La (1960–1971), Franklin D. Roosevelt (1956–1977), Forrestal (1977–1993), Saratoga (1957–1994), and, most recently, John F. Kennedy (1995–2007). With the decommissioning of all conventionally-powered aircraft carriers by the U.S. Navy, no carriers are presently assigned to Mayport. However, both houses of Congress have passed legislation authorizing about US$75 million for dredging and upgrades at NAVSTA Mayport to accommodate a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.[4][5]

On 29 January 2010, the Quadrennial Defense Review Report stated that a nuclear aircraft carrier would be homeported at NS Mayport. The action will help protect the fleet against a potential terror attack, accident or natural disaster, because all east coast aircraft carriers are currently based at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, according to the report. West coast aircraft carriers are split between Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, Naval Base Kitsap and Naval Station Everett in Washington state and one carrier assigned to the Forward Deployed Naval Force (FDNF) homeported at Naval Base Yokosuka, Japan.

In 2009, Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, stated, "Having a single (nuclear carrier) homeport has not been considered acceptable on the west coast and should not be considered acceptable on the east coast."[6] The decision was opposed by elected officials in Virginia,[7] who would lose 3,500 sailors and their dependents, $425 million in revenue each year, and most importantly, 6,000 support jobs.[8] The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce estimated the loss at 11,000 jobs and $650 million per year.[9] Infrastructure changes and facility construction at Mayport were estimated to take five years and cost over half a billion dollars. The 2011 budget committed $590 million during the fiscal years from 2011 to 2019, so a carrier may not move to Mayport until 2019.[8][10] An amphibious group was assigned sooner. The USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), consisting of Iwo Jima, USS New York and USS Fort McHenry relocated to Mayport between December 2013 and August 2014.[11][12]

The Virginia congressional delegation fought the loss of even one of Naval Station Norfolk's aircraft carriers boost to their economy by citing other areas such as shipbuilding to spend the Navy's tight budget.[13]

On 5 September 2018, the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth and escort frigate HMS Monmouth, arrived at Mayport for resupplying, on her first deployment to the United States for "Westlant 18".[14]

Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two

A 2013 report from the Navy revealed that they are considering basing as many as 14 littoral combat ships at NS Mayport.[15] Littoral Combat Ship Squadron Two (LCSRON2) was established at the base on 7 November 2014.[16] All Freedom variant LCSs, with the exception of the first two ships of the class (Freedom and Fort Worth), are to be assigned to LCSRON2. Currently, Milwaukee, Detroit, Little Rock, Sioux City, Wichita, Billings, Indianapolis, and St. Louis are assigned to the squadron, with upcoming ships Minneapolis-Saint Paul and Cooperstown expected to be added as they come into service.[17][16][18]

Mayport had been the home of Destroyer Squadron 14 for years. On 31 July 2015, the squadron was merged with Cruiser-Destroyer Readiness Support Detachment Mayport to form Naval Surface Squadron Fourteen (NAVSURFRON14). Currently, the squadron consists of the destroyers Carney, The Sullivans, Lassen, Farragut, Thomas Hudner, Paul Ignatius, Delbert D. Black, Carney, Donald Cook, and Winston S. Churchill.[19]

Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group

The Amphibious Ready Group is no longer based in Mayport. Iwo Jima shifted homeports to Naval Station Norfolk in December 2021, New York shifted in November 2021, and Fort McHenry was decommissioned in March 2021.[20][21]

Homeported ships

Adm David L. McDonald Field

On 1 April 1944, the air facility at Mayport was commissioned as Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Mayport. Following World War II, the NAAS was decommissioned and placed in a caretaker status. The United States Coast Guard took over the base and operated a small "Boot Camp" there for several years, but they vacated Mayport in late 1947 due to budget cuts. Mayport was reactivated again in June 1948 as a Naval Outlying Landing Field under the cognizance of the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station Jacksonville. As helicopter aviation evolved during the Cold War, Mayport became the East Coast home for the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) MK III squadrons. As a reflection of growth, Naval Air Facility Mayport was re-designated as a naval air station in 1988.[24]

Aircraft wings and squadrons

Helicopter wing

  • Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing, U.S. Atlantic Fleet

Helicopter squadrons

See also

References

  1. 1 2 FAA Airport Form 5010 for NRB PDF, effective 2007-10-25.
  2. ↑ Naval Station Mayport Archived 2004-03-20 at the Wayback Machine (official site)
  3. ↑ military-technology.com
  4. ↑ "Congress okays plan to upgrade Mayport", Jacksonville Transportation Examiner, October 23, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Senate Passes Mayport Upgrade Bill: Bill To Go To President Barack Obama For Approval". News4jax.com. 22 October 2009. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "ISSUE: Aircraft Carrier Presence at Naval Station Mayport, FL" (PDF). Camden County Chamber of Commerce. 13 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Mayport To Get Nuclear Aircraft Carrier" (PDF). WJTX-TV. 29 January 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011.
  8. 1 2 Bacon, Lance M. (28 April 2010). "Mayport carrier move not delayed, Navy says". Navy Times.
  9. ↑ "Carrier move to Mayport dead in the water?". Navy Times. 20 May 2010.
  10. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 March 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ↑ "USS New York Changes Homeport to Naval Station Mayport". Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  12. ↑ "USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort McHenry arrive at Mayport". Archived from the original on 23 August 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Pershing, Ben (16 May 2011). "Two states, one aircraft carrier and no end in sight". The Washington Post.
  14. ↑ @HMSQNLZ (5 September 2018). "Hello #USA Delighted to announce we have safely transited the pond and are proceeding alongside Mayport Florid…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ↑ "Fleet Forces Recommends Stationing 14 Littoral Combat Ships in Florida". 9 September 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 Established". Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "Mayport officials get glimpse into future first 2 Littoral Combat Ships". jacksonville.com. 30 December 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  18. ↑ "Mayport welcomes new LCSs to basin". mayportmirror.jacksonville.com. 4 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 31 August 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ↑ "USS New York Shifts Homeport to Norfolk". 23 November 2020.
  21. ↑ Mongilio, Heather (13 December 2021). "USS Iwo Jima Arrives in New Homeport at Naval Station Norfolk". USNI News. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "USS Arleigh Burke Prepares for Home Port Shift to Rota". DVIDS.
  23. ↑ "USS Jason Dunham arrives at new homeport of Mayport". 13 February 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  24. ↑ "History". Archived from the original on 19 December 2014.
  25. 1 2 3 "Tenant Commands". CNIC. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  26. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. November 2021. p. 20.

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