Naval Amphibious Base Coronado

Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Naval Amphibious Base Coronado
Part of Naval Base Coronado
Coronado, California in the United States
	Members of BUD/S Class 284 participate in Hell Week at the Naval Special Warfare Center, Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, Aug. 13, 2010.
	NAB Coronado NAB Coronado
Coordinates	32°40′31.69″N 117°9′38.33″W / 32.6754694°N 117.1606472°W
Type	Naval base
Site information
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	US Navy
Controlled by	Navy Region Southwest
Condition	Operational
Site history
Built	1943–1944 (as Amphibious Training Base)
In use	1944 – present
Garrison information
Current; commander	Captain Ladislao "Monty" Montero
Garrison	Naval Special Warfare Center

Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (NAB Coronado) is a US naval installation located across the bay from San Diego, California. The base, situated on the Silver Strand, between San Diego Bay and the Pacific Ocean, is a major Navy shore command, supporting over 30 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 and 7,000 students and reservists. The base is one of the eight components of Naval Base Coronado (NBC).

History

Formally commissioned in January 1944,^[1] 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 Highway 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 257 acres (1.0 km²) 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 9 square miles (23 km²) of land, and NAB lies south of the main residential and commercial portions of the city. Another naval facility, Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island, is located northwest of the city of Coronado. South of NAB is the Silver Strand.

In June 1943, the Secretary of the Navy authorized the establishment of the Amphibious Training Base in the San Diego area to meet wartimes demands for trained landing craft 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.^[2] The streets of the base bear the names of those famous battles which led to the Empire of Japan's defeat: Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Tulagi, and Bougainville, to name a few.

The base has also provided training for Underwater Demolition Teams, United States Navy SEALs, brown-water Navy personnel, and Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps midshipmen.^[3] 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.^[4]

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
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

In 1996 a giant oarfish was found beached nearby the base. Its several meters long carcass, held by several Navy SEAL Trainees, was photographed and published in the April 1997 release of All Hands.^[5]

Buildings 320, 321, 322, and 323, at 32°40′36″N 117°09′30″W / 32.67657°N 117.15827°W / 32.67657; -117.15827, have a swastika-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 Google Earth.^[6] Although landscaping and architectural modifications were to be made to obscure the shape,^[6] 2023 imagery, the latest used by Google Earth, shows no substantive change.^[7]

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.^[8]

References

^ Linder, Bruce (2001). San Diego's Navy. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 135. ISBN 1-55750-531-4.
^ "U.S. Naval Activities World War II by State[CALIFORNIA]". ibiblio. Patrick Clancey. Retrieved 2012-03-19.
^ La Tourette, Robert (June 1968). The San Diego Naval Complex. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.
^ "Naval Base Coronado". Archived from the original on 2007-03-04. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
^ Carstens, John (April 1997). "SEALS find serpent of the sea" (PDF). All Hands. Naval Media Center. pp. 20–21. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
^ ^a ^b Marshall, Carolyn (2007-09-27). "Navy to Mask Swastika Look of Barracks in California". The New York Times. p. 29.
^ "Google Maps". Google.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
^ "Schools (Coronado)". Navy Life SW, official US Navy site. Retrieved 2023-02-01.