Naval Station Pascagoula
Encyclopedia
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, in Pascagoula
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The base officially closed November 15, 2006. The base's property, on Singing River Island in the Mississippi Sound
Mississippi Sound
The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about 145 kilometers...
at the mouth of the Singing (née Pascagoula) River, was formally transferred to the Mississippi Secretary of State's office July 9, 2007.
This 437-acre (1.8-km²) island is man-made, having been created over the years as dredge materials from the Pascagoula federal channel and nearby Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
shipyard were deposited in the area. In the early 1980s Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
approved the strategic homeporting initiative to build additional bases and disperse the Fleet from the main concentration areas. Naval Station Pascagoula was created in 1985 when the Navy selected the Singing River Island location as one of the new Gulf Coast strategic homeport sites. Base construction began in 1988, and the station became an operational homeport of Perry-class
Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate
The Oliver Hazard Perry class is a class of frigates named after the American Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the naval Battle of Lake Erie...
guided-missile
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s in 1992 with the arrival of the first ship, .
Ticonderoga class cruiser
The Ticonderoga class of missile cruisers is a class of warships in the United States Navy, first ordered and authorized in FY 1978. The class uses phased-array radar and was originally planned as a class of destroyers...
Aegis
Aegis combat system
The Aegis Combat System is an integrated naval weapons system developed by the Missile and Surface Radar Division of RCA, and now produced by Lockheed Martin...
guided-missile cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s in Pascagoula; and the relocation of both the Pascagoula Coast Guard Station and a Reliance-class (210’) Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
cutter to the naval station.
NAVSTA Pascagoula provided support not only to personnel stationed onboard the station and its homeported ships, but also to pre-commissioning crews of surface combatant ships that were being constructed at Ingalls Shipbuilding. In that regard, beginning in FY99 station assumed ownership and operating responsibility for the Lakeside Naval Support Facility, which is located within the city of Pascagoula approximately 10 miles from the main base, which provides berthing primarily for the pre-commissioning crews. The base also provided support to the Navy community at large in a variety of ways, most notably through the Fleet and Family Support Center, the Housing Referral Office, and the Morale Welfare and Recreation Department.
As of 2005, NAVSTA Pascagoula supported approximately 2,000 active duty military, including those assigned to ships and tenant commands on the station. It employed more than 200 civilian workers; supported 4,100 family members of active duty military; approximately 850 reservists who live in Jackson County
Jackson County, Mississippi
There were 47,676 households out of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 20.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.10% had...
; and approximately 4,000 Jackson County retirees and their family members. Total annual economic impact was estimated at $100 million, including payrolls, contracts, goods and services.
NAVSTA Pascagoula epitomized the "clean sheet" design for a modern naval station. Waterfront support infrastructure at NAVSTA Pascagoula includes a 680-foot (205 m) double-deck pier (utilities on lower deck; upper deck free for operational support), two quayside berths, and the full range of services for "cold iron" support of homeported and visiting ships. Ship maintenance and repair support is available from the Navy’s Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA), or by contract (there are 17 major shipyards/marine contractors located along the Gulf Coast between New Orleans, La.
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, and Panama City, Fla.
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
).
Tenant commands at NAVSTA Pascagoula included
- Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity, Pascagoula
- Destroyer Squadron 6
- USCG Station Pascagoula
Base Realignment and Closure, 2005
NAVSTA Pascagoula was marked for consolidation under Defense Secretary Donald RumsfeldDonald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
's list of base closings in the May 2005 round. This was a blow to Mississippi Senator Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
, who fought to get Pascagoula off the list in 1995. On August 24, 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
committee voted to include Naval Station Pascagoula on its final list of closures. The base officially closed November 15, 2006.