The Military - Military

Ask many World War II–era folks what they know about Jacksonville, and chances are a fair number of them will say they served time here in the navy or knew someone who did.

For many of them, Jacksonville conjures up images of aircraft carriers, destroyers, helicopters, fighter jets, and families running across the tarmac to welcome a parent home from a long deployment.

The Jacksonville region is home to three navy bases: Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax), Naval Station Mayport (NAVSTA Mayport), and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

NAS Jax is home to numerous helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft squadrons and is where navy aircraft and ground support equipment from all over the world are repaired. The station employs 19,500 people. At the Naval Air Depot, around 3,800 civilian employees (many retired navy) fix it all—from a flat tire on a Seahawk helicopter to a complicated electronic circuit board on an F-16 fighter jet.

NAVSTA Mayport is homeport for 22 ships, as well as a large helicopter engine repair facility.

About an hour up the road, near St. Marys, Georgia, is the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. Kings Bay, as the locals call it, is homeport for two large submarine squadrons and six Trident ballistic missile submarines.

Another military location in the heart of Jacksonville doesn’t usually get much attention. It’s the U.S. Marine Corps Blount Island Command, which maintains 13 pre-positioned ships—supply ships that are always loaded with ground-defense systems and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. Pre-positioned ships carry enough supplies and equipment in their holds to allow troops to engage in several weeks of warfare anywhere in the world.

The Coast Guard also plays a vital and growing role in Jacksonville and is responsible for everything from port security to making sure that shrimpers use turtle exclusion devices on their nets. Its most visible base is located in Mayport.

According to the navy, the economic impact on Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia from these four bases combined is $6.45 billion. There are more than 227,000 people associated with these bases, from active-duty personnel to reservists, retirees, civilian workers, and their respective families. Put another way, 20 out of every 100 people you will meet in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia will have some connection to the U.S. Navy or the U.S. Marines.

Finally, the navy is proud to offer this fact: more than 20,000 navy personnel and marines donate hundreds of thousands of volunteer service hours to the Jacksonville community every year. These volunteers do it all, from building HabiJax houses to speaking to scout groups to mentoring at-risk kids.

(Most of the amenities described in the following listings are available exclusively for active and retired military personnel and their families. We have noted when they are available to civilians as well.)