Indiana Military Bases

Indiana known as the Hoosier state is home to the Indianapolis 500. Below are military bases in Indiana and there locations.

Map of Military Bases in Indiana

NSWC Crane Division

This military installation is a U.S. Navy shore command located in Crane, Indiana. The NSWC Crane Division has been in operation for over 70 years. It was originally established as the Naval Ammunition Depot and was used to produce, test, and store military weaponry. Today, the base supports military systems in electronic warfare, strategic missions, and special missions. It employs about 3,000 Navy personnel, 75 percent of whom are engineers, scientists, and technicians. This base sits on about 100 square miles and is the third largest Navy base in the world. It also has a storage capacity for 650,000 tons of ordnance.

Grissom Joint Air Reserve Base

This installation, named after the astronaut Lt. Col. Virgil Grissom, is one of five Air Reserve bases in the country. In 1942, it was founded as Naval Air Station Bunker Hill but then was used as an Air Force installation for forty years until it was changed to a joint base with the Grissom Aeroplex in 1994. Although it is primarily an Air Reserve base, the Navy, Marines, and Army are also represented here. It is hosted by the 434th Air Refueling Wing which trains reservists and develops its units’ operational capability. The training that goes on here includes deployments and flight operations.

Camp Atterbury

This National Guard base is located in Edinburgh, Indiana. After the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941, base operations started up with the construction of over 1,500 wood-frame buildings and one 47-building hospital (which was famous for its progressive plastic eye replacements). This base endured over 7,000 casualties during the Battle of the Bulge. Over the course of the base’s existence, it also served as a prisoner of war camp for German and Italian soldiers; it aired the first ever radio show produced and hosted entirely by U.S. troops; and it operated as an induction and separation center during WWII. Each summer, Camp Atterbury hosts the National Emergency Services Academy of the Civil Air Patrol.

Fort Benjamin Harrison

This base was closed in 1991, and the land was redeveloped as use for a golf course, residential neighborhoods, and as the Fort Harrison State Park. Even though this installation is now inactive, it still hosts some military activity today and served a rich military purpose in the past. Purchased in 1903, this base was named after President Harrison. WWI and WWII brought a lot of military demand to the post, and it soon became the largest reception center in the country at that time.

Coast Guard Stations

The only Coast Guard station in Indiana is the Coast Guard Station Michigan City. It primarily performs search-and-rescue missions, but it also helps with law enforcement, environmental protection, and homeland security.