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Naval Station Pascagoula (NAVSTA Pascagoula) was a base of the United States Navy, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The base officially closed 15 November 2006. The base's property, on Singing River Island in the Mississippi Sound at the mouth of the Pascagoula River, was formally transferred to the Mississippi Secretary of State's office 9 July 2007.

History

Singing River Island (437-acre (1.8-km²)) is man-made, having been created over the years as dredge materials from the Pascagoula federal channel and nearby Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard was deposited in the area. In the early 1980s, the United States Congress approved the strategic homeporting initiative to build additional bases and disperse the Fleet from the main concentration areas. The story of Naval Station Pascagoula began in 1985 when the Secretary of the Navy John Lehman selected the Singing River Island location as one of the new Strategic Homeport sites. Base construction began in 1988, and the station became an operational homeport of Perry-class guided-missile frigates in 1992 with the arrival of the first ship, .

The Naval Station's support mission increased dramatically in subsequent years due to a variety of actions: the Base Realignment and Closure Commission 1993 recommendations, which meant ships and other units moved to Pascagoula from other bases; the reorganization of Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic, which homeported Ticonderoga class cruisers in Pascagoula. As part of this reorganization shifted homeports to Pascagoula in September 1996. The Coast Guard also relocated Coast Guard Station Pascagoula and a Reliance-class (210') Coast Guard cutter to the naval station. At one point, the composition of Destroyer Squadron 6 included FFG-16 at Mayport, FFG 22 at Charleston, SC, at Charleston, SC, FFG 15 at Norfolk, and FFG 20 and FFG 21 at Pascagoula.

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The Naval Station provided support not only to personnel stationed on board the station and its homeported ships but also to pre-commissioning crews of surface combatant ships that were being constructed at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Beginning in Fiscal Year 1999, the station assumed ownership and operating responsibility for the Lakeside Naval Support Facility (Lakeside NSF). The Lakeside NSF, located within the city of Pascagoula approximately 10 miles from the main base, 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.

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 the 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., and Panama City, Fla.).

References

  • NAVSTA Pascagoula Base Realignment and Closure
  • 2001 Naval Station Pascagoula Home page Archive
  • 2005 Naval Station Pascagoula Home page Archive
  • 2001 Naval Station Pascagoula Command History Archive