Military bases in North Carolina include Camp Butner, Camp Davis, Fort Brag and many more. These bases support our US military and nations defense. North Carolina is a beautiful state located in the south eastern part of the United States. The state has a population of 10 million plus. North Carolina has a mixed scenic landscape ranging from mountains to ocean views. North Carolina is bordered by Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. North Carolina is a great place to visit and vacation.
Map of Military Bases in North Carolina
List of Military Bases in North Carolina
Below is a brief description and history of some of the US military bases in North Carolina. Each one has a unique story and plays an important role for the security of North Carolina and the United States.
Camp Butner
Camp Butner is a North Carolina military base that was established in 1942. The federal government purchased over 40,000 acres of farmland in Granville County, North Carolina. Durings its time, it contributed to North Carolina’s record of providing more trained soldiers than any other state during World War II. Camp Butner was responsible for training several Infantry divisions and housing Italian prisoners of war. Today it is under the ownership of the National Guard.
Camp Butner contributed lasting changes to the county of Granville and South Carolina. In addition to a site for South Carolina’s National Guard, another lasting contribution was the creation of Umstead Hospital. During the time of Camp Butner’s activity, it was used as an Army hospital. Several years after the camp and its facilities, including the hospital, had been closed, John Umstead re-opened and renovated it to create a premier hospital for the mentally ill. Another portion of the camp that was originally used as barracks was refurbished into Murdoch center, a treatment center that provided long-term care to those with chronic mental illness. From training America’s elite to providing care for Americans in need, this site has given back to our country throughout its history and well into the present.
Camp Davis
Camp Davis began in 1940 as an anti-aircraft artillery training center for the Army. The base sits on about 45,500 acres and includes over 3,000 buildings. In 1942, the field built two runways that were about 5,000 feet in length and ran partway through an old Civil War fort. Most of Camp Davis’s aircraft were intended to tow targets for artillery units with anti-aircraft objectives, and these aircraft typically had a single engine. Camp Davis also served as a prisoner-of-war camp for German soldiers during WWII and ending up housing around 550 of them. For about two years (from 1946 to 1948) the camp was used by the Navy for Operation Bumblebee training. During that time, they developed and tested surface-to-air missiles.
Camp Mackall
Camp Mackall was established in 1943, and was originally named Camp Hoffman. Shortly after, the camp was renamed Camp MacKall after Private John Thomas Mackall, a man who played an important role in a mission called Operation Torch. The camp is home to a hospital with capabilities to treat over 1,000 soldiers at any one time, six beer gardens, an all-weather flight training airfield, five movie theaters, and over 1,700 buildings. The base has been deemed a “marvel of wartime construction” by a historian named Stephen E. Ambrose because the whole base was built in just four months.
During World War II, the Army base partnered with Fort Bragg to train pilots serving overseas.. Today, many troops live and sleep at Fort Bragg while training at Camp Mackall, still primarily airborne training.
Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg is an Army base that was built in 1918, and it was used as a training camp for soldiers being sent to combat overseas in Europe during World War I. When it was first established, it was named Camp Bragg after General Braxton Bragg, a Civil War Confederate officer, and in 1922, the camp was renamed Fort Bragg. The base was threatened with deactivation many times, but always managed to escape it when new units would arrive and bring the fort up to full capacity. When the U.S. Army Physiological Warfare Center was established in the early 1950s, it found a home at Fort Bragg.
Despites its many near-misses with closure, Fort Bragg is alive and successful. It has played a vital role in training soldiers for missions in Vietnam, Korea, Panama, Grenada, Honduras, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point
This Army base is the nation’s largest ammunition port and is the Department of Defense’s primary shipping point for ammunition on the Atlantic Coast. It opened in 1955 and is operated by the 567th Transportation Group. The base sits on about 16,000 acres of land near the Cape Fear River. It’s the only terminal that is specially equipped to handle containerized ammunition, and it can hold up to 6 ships at the same time. Sunny Point also handles operations for Army rail service, traffic management, public works, Reserve Component training, global communications, and more. During Operations Desert Storm, Desert Shield, and Desert Sortie, Sunny Point was responsible for shipping more than 90 percent of munitions to the Gulf and back. But since it opened, the base has transported munitions for every major conflict, and most of it was transported by rail.
Pope Field
Just a few miles northwest of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is Pope Field. The base is now operated by the Army but used to be under the control of the Air Force (it used to be called Pope Air Force Base during the Air Force’s control). Pope Field currently operates as part of Fort Bragg. When the base was first established around 1919, operations included those for mail carrying, mapping photography, and locating forest fires and artillery. The field housed several observation planes and balloons for a time, but then in training for WWII, Pope AFB helped develop important flight tactics that ended up shortening the war considerably.
In the past, the field housed the 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Group, the 4415th Air Base Group, and the 464th Troop Carrier Wing. But today, it is home to the 427th Special Operations Squadron, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, 21st Special Tactics Squadron, and Air Force Combat Support.
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Seymour Johnson AFB is located near Goldsboro, North Carolina. It was established in 1942 as initial headquarters for the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command’s technical school. However, it soon began training grounds to prepare officers and other soldiers for duty overseas. With the change in missions, the base became known then as the Provisional Overseas Replacement Training Center. In 1947, after WWII ended, the base was inactivated for almost 10 years. When it was reopened, it operated under the Tactical Air Command and hosted the 4435th Air Base Squadron. The soldiers training at the base have used a variety of aircraft over the years, including the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, F-86H Sabre, and North American F-100C/F. In addition to military training, Seymour Johnson AFB also hosts an air show twice a year called “Wings Over Wayne.” It’s a two-day event where pilots demonstrate acrobatic skills and fighter aircraft. The event usually draws around 175,000 people.
MCAS New River
Before a base was ever constructed here, the land was occupied by a small tobacco farm. In order to support needs for amphibious operations, the land was soon bought by the military and turned into an airfield in 1943. Over the course of its first years, the field changed hands several times, operating primarily under Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune for a while. During WWII, glider troops, paratrooper Marines, and air delivery personnel trained here, but the entire camp closed with the end of the war until 1951. This base was the first in the Marine Corps to receive and train with the MV-22 Osprey, which is an aircraft that takes off and lands similar to helicopter but then flies just like a plane.
MCB Camp Lejeune
Onslow County, North Carolina is home of Marine Base Corps Camp Lejeune, and has been since its beginnings in 1941. Following its construction, it was considered one of the most modern military bases of its time. It got its name for Lieutenant General John A. Lejeune, a military figure who promoted the Amphibious Assault Doctrine later taught in Camp Lejeune. This military strategy was ground-breaking for this period, and involved seizing a strategic area and using it as a base or headquarters as other missions progressed. All the while, the seized area would be continuously defended and reinforced throughout the entire occupation. MCB Camp Lejeune made training for amphibious operations its primary mission. Officials felt this strategy would be particularly helpful along the Pacific front as the the Allies battled the Japanese.
Although construction had already begun prior to the Pearl Harbor attacks, the tragic event sent the race to completion into a full-throttle sprint. Finally, it finished in 1943 and began training and deploying troops. Even after the war, this camp continued to expand, and structures that were originally temporary were torn down to make room for permanent installations. MCB Camp Lejeune is still in operation today, and known for housing the Fleet Marine Force.
MCAS Cherry Point
MCAS Cherry Point is a marine military base in North Carolina. Construction on Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point began just days before the attacks on Pearl Harbor occurred. During World War II, MCAS prepared its soldiers for sea warfare. These skills proved useful and eventually led to the defeat German U-boat near the United States mainland. It pivoted towards a different role during the Korean War, instead training aircrew members and and maintenance persons. Following the Cold War, MCAS Cherry Point was home to the first Marine aviation unit to fly to Russia in the February of 1990. This air station used its VMR-1’s to help the surrounding area during searches for missing people, natural disaster emergencies, Coast Guard assistance, and many other demanding missions. This lasted up until 2015, when these aircrafts were returned to the Navy. During its time using these helicopters, the crews were typically involved in over 50 lifesaving missions every year. MCAS Cherry Point has had a significant impact on world history from its beginnings in 1941 to the present day, and there is no question that it will continue to serve America and its citizens as the future unfolds.
Coast Guard Stations
Over the course of the last two centuries, there have been 33 Coast Guard stations in North Carolina. Today 10 are active and all are under the operation of the 6th life-saving station district. The main missions of Sector North Carolina include Marine safety, search and rescue, coastal security, navigation aid, marine environmental protection, and maritime law enforcement. The Cape Lookout Coast Guard Station, positioned on the Core Banks, houses NCU students who assist in turtle and dolphin research.
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