NAVAL WEAPONS STATION CHARLESTON

'Naval Weapons Station Charleston' is a base of the United States Navy located on the west bank of the Cooper River, in Charleston County, South Carolina, north of Charleston. It contains 12,000 acres (48 km²).

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History

External links

History

Naval Weapons Station Charleston encompasses more than 17,000 acres (69 km²) of land with 10,000 acres (40 km²) of forest and wetlands, 16-plus miles of waterfront, four deep water piers, 38.2 miles of railroad and 292 miles of road. The current workforce (military/civil service/contractor) is 11,500 with an additional 3,600 in on-base family housing.
Commissioned in 1941, the Station had two distinct missions: as home for two strategic submarine squadrons and a submarine tender, and as an ordnance station with capacity for more than 60 million pounds conventional ordnance. The ordnance mission continues today, and Naval Weapons Station Charleston is the only military installation in the continental U.S. with completely unencumbered explosive safety arcs.
The Weapons Station has expanded its mission and DoD support role with over 40 tenant commands, and today is a training center, with the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, Nuclear Power Training Unit, Propulsion Facility, and Border Patrol satellite academy; East Coast Consolidated Brig; Mobile Mine Assembly Unit; Explosive Ordnance Detachments; Reserve Centers; an engineering complex, with the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center and nearby Southern Division, Naval Facilities Engineering Command; 100+ above-ground ammunition magazines, maintenance and storage of military ordnance including mines, and as the Army logistics hub, the busiest CONUS surface port in the defense transportation system. In addition, NWS Charleston contains more than 1,800 on-base houses for enlisted and officer dependents, as well as elementary and middle public schools.

External links

★ NWS Charleston official website

★ globalsecurity.org: NWS Charleston