Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
Encyclopedia
The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

's Atlantic Fleet. The base comprises four locations in three states, including almost 12,000 acres (49 km²) of real estate. Its Little Creek location in Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 totals 2,120 acres (9 km²) of land, though its post office address is in Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

. Outlying facilities include 350 acres (1.4 km²) located just north of Fleet Training Center Dam Neck
Fleet Training Center Dam Neck
Training Support Center Hampton Roads is the current name of the facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, which was long-known as "FTC Dam Neck". It is the home of the "Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic" of the United States Navy.- Dam Neck Mills, U.S...

 in Virginia Beach, and 21 acres (85,000 m²) known as Radio Island at Morehead City, N.C.
Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City is a port city in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007...

, used as an amphibious embarkation/debarkation area for U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 units at MCB Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune is a United States military training facility in North Carolina. The base's of beaches make it a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports allows for fast deployments.The main base is supplemented by five satellite...

, N.C.
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...



The mission of the Naval Amphibious Base is to provide required support services to over 15,000 personnel of the 27 homeported ships and 78 resident and/or supported activities. The base's combination of operational, support, and training facilities are geared predominantly to amphibious operations, making the base unique among bases of the United States and Allied Navies.

The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the largest base of its kind in the world.

On October 1, 2009, Little Creek and the Army's Fort Story
Fort Story
Formerly a sub-installation of Fort Eustis, Fort Story is a sub-installation of the United States Navy and Little Creek Amphibious Base...

 finished a 2 year merge into one joint base officially named Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story is a base of the United States military that is located in the Virginia Beach, Virginia which is made up of Fort Story and Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. It was created as the result of the Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 process...

.

World War II

On July 16, 1942, a U.S. Navy truck drove off Shore Drive, the scenic highway along the south shore of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

 between the resort areas of Ocean View in the City of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

 and the small town of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

  in Princess Anne County
Princess Anne County, Virginia
Princess Anne County is a former county which was created in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach...

. The resort town was located on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean several miles south of Cape Henry
Cape Henry
Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia north of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Charles...

, at the entrance to the bay.

Near an inlet called "Little Creek" the truck stopped in a waterlogged bean field of the Whitehurst family's farm. For days thereafter, trucks loaded with lumber and equipment rolled into the area in almost continuous succession. The reason for this mass assault in a bean field 12 miles (19.3 km) northeast of Norfolk was that, early in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Navy planners saw a necessity for landing large numbers of American troops on foreign shores in the face of enemy gunfire. That such operations would be difficult was also evident. New methods and techniques in landing troops would have to be developed. Training would be needed before sufficient men were proficient in the complicated art of the amphibious
Amphibious warfare
Amphibious warfare is the use of naval firepower, logistics and strategy to project military power ashore. In previous eras it stood as the primary method of delivering troops to non-contiguous enemy-held terrain...

 assault, which would enable U.S. troops to drive to the heart of the enemy.

The base was initially established in the farmland of Princess Anne County
Princess Anne County, Virginia
Princess Anne County is a former county which was created in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach...

. During the early phases of World War II the base was literally a combination of farmland and swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s. Four bases were constructed on this area: Camp Bradford, Camp Shelton, U.S. Naval Frontier Base, and Amphibious Training Base.
Camps Bradford and Shelton were named for the former owners of the land.
  • At first Camp Bradford was a training base for Navy Seabee
    Seabee
    Seabees are members of the United States Navy construction battalions. The word Seabee is a proper noun that comes from the initials of Construction Battalion, of the United States Navy...

    s, but in 1943 it was changed into a training center for the crews of LST
    Tank landing ship
    Landing Ship, Tank was the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore....

    s (Landing Ship Tank).

  • Camp Shelton was an armed guard training center for bluejackets serving on board merchant ships as gun crews. At the end of World War II it served as a separation center.

  • The Frontier Base was the forwarding center for Amphibious Force personnel and equipment destined for the European Theater.

  • The Amphibious Training Base (also known as "Little Creek") was the center for all types of amphibious training and the training of ship's crews for LSM (landing ship medium), LCI (landing craft infantry), and LCU (landing craft utility); LCM (landing craft mechanized), and LCVP (landing craft
    Landing craft
    Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...

     vehicle, personnel) boat crews were also trained at Little Creek.


At the new bases, the techniques of training had to be developed from scratch. Facilities for the upkeep of equipment as well as living facilities for personnel were primitive. The newcomers found few buildings and practically no roads or utilities. Just bean vines. After various improvisations along came temporary buildings that were later to give the site some resemblance to a naval base.

In a few months the trained men who were to land fighting forces from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 to Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 were ready for sea. During World War II over 200,000 Naval personnel and 160,000 Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and Marine Corps personnel trained at Little Creek.

Post-WWII

The four bases were partially inactivated at the end of hostilities of World War II. Shortly thereafter, however, the bases at Little Creek, because of their central location on the Atlantic coast, excellent and varied beach conditions, proximity to the naval facilities of Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk
Naval Station Norfolk, in Norfolk, Virginia, is a base of the United States Navy, supporting naval forces in the United States Fleet Forces Command, those operating in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean...

, berthing facilities for amphibious ships through the size of LSTs, and other advantages, were consolidated into the present installation and renamed the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek with a commissioning date of August 10, 1945. It was designated a permanent base in 1946.

In 1963, the growing county was consolidated with its tiny resort city neighbor, forming the "new" City of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...

, one of Virginia's largest.

Growing over the years to meet the needs of the Amphibious Force, the base has developed into one of the most modern in the Navy. Thousands of men and women from all branches of the Armed Forces, as well as military students from foreign nations, now pass through the gates of the Naval Amphibious Base yearly for training in amphibious warfare.

Amphibious warfare adds a crucial measure of leverage to conducting a maritime campaign successfully. National maritime strategy seeks to deter war if at all possible, but if deterrence fails, to destroy enemy maritime forces, protect allied sea lines of communication, support the land campaign, and secure favorable leverage for termination of hostilities. It is a truly global strategy, requiring the ability to dominate the world's oceans and the flexibility of force employment that only naval forces can provide. Naval forces are viewed as central elements of American military strategy. The Navy/Marine Corps team provides an effective amphibious striking arm in support of the national military strategy. Today nearly 13,000 Sailors, Marines, and civilian employees are assigned to the various stations or attend schools at the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek in support of the Navy/Marine Corps team.

Major shore commands

  • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group Two
    • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit Two
    • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Two
    • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Six
    • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit Twelve
  • Naval Beach Group Two
    • Assault Craft Unit Two
    • Assault Craft Unit Four
    • Beachmaster Unit Two
      Beachmaster Unit Two
      Beachmaster Unit Two is a United States Navy amphibious beach party unit based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Little Creek, Virginia...

  • Naval Construction Force
See also: Amphibious Construction Battalion One
Amphibious Construction Battalion One
Amphibious Construction Battalion One is an amphibious construction battalion in the United States Navy based in Coronado, California. Amphibious Construction Battalion Two is its sister unit based in Little Creek, Virginia.-Mission :...

 (ACB-1)
    • 1st Naval Construction Division
    • Amphibious Construction Battalion Two
    • Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 202
  • Naval Special Warfare Group Two
    • SEAL Team Two
    • SEAL Team Four
    • SEAL Team Eight
    • SEAL Team Ten
  • Naval Special Warfare Group Four
    • Special Boat Team 20
  • Tactical Air Control Group Two
    • Tactical Air Control Squadron Twenty One
    • Tactical Air Control Squadron Twenty Two
  • Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two
  • Underwater Construction Team One

Other Tenants

  • Board of Inspection and Survey
    Board of Inspection and Survey
    The Board of Inspection and Survey is a U.S. Navy organization whose purpose is to inspect and assess material condition of Naval vessels.The Board is currently headquartered at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Virginia.- INSURV teams :...

  • U.S. Armed Forces School of Music
    U.S. Armed Forces School of Music
    The Navy School of Music is a United States Navy school located on board Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Ft Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The school's mission is to provide specialized musical training to musicians of the Navy, Army, and Marine Corps military bands...

    , which trains professional musicians for service with the U.S. military bands of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps

Ferry Road

The base remains bisected by a finger of land not part of the base. The land includes Ferry Road, a rail line, and the docks serving current cross-bay rail barge traffic of Bay Coast Railroad
Bay Coast Railroad
The Bay Coast Railroad operates the former Eastern Shore Railroad line from Pocomoke City, Maryland, to Norfolk, Virginia. The Bay Coast Railroad interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Railway at both Norfolk, Virginia and Pocomoke City, Maryland.-History:...

, formerly the Eastern Shore Railroad
Eastern Shore Railroad
The Eastern Shore Railroad, Inc. was a Class III short-line railroad that began operations in October 1981 on the 96 mile former Virginia and Maryland Railroad line on the Delmarva Peninsula...

, to Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cape Charles is located at ....

.

Ferry Road, crossed by the base's Guam Road-Amphibious Drive bridge, once served the now defunct Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry which transported passengers and motor vehicles across the mouth of the bay to Cape Charles
Cape Charles
Cape Charles may refer to:*Cape Charles, Virginia, a town in Northampton County, Virginia*Cape Charles , headland or cape in Northampton County, Virginia...

 and Kiptopeke until replacement in 1964 by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia...

.

See: Ferry Road bisecting NABLC

External links

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