Naval Air Station Jacksonville

Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a United States Navy installation in Duval County, Florida, located on Black Point between the St. Johns River and the Ortega River. The base is a component of the Jacksonville Naval Complex.

The site was first commissioned in 1917 as Camp Joseph E. Johnston, a World War I Army training center. After decommissioning in 1919, it was used by the Florida National Guard as Camp J. Clifford R. Foster starting in 1928. Naval Air Station Jacksonville was officially commissioned on October 15, 1940. During World War II, the base trained over 10,000 pilots and 11,000 airmen and operated a prisoner of war camp. The Navy’s first jet carrier air groups arrived at the station in 1948. In 1973, the primary mission shifted to antisubmarine warfare following the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One. Between 2007 and 2010, the base consolidated several patrol and logistics squadrons transferred from NAS Brunswick.

The facility is operated by the U.S. Navy under Navy Region Southeast. It is the headquarters for Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Eleven and hosts Patrol Squadron Thirty (VP-30), the Fleet Replacement Squadron for the P-8A Poseidon, P-3 Orion, and EP-3E Aries. The base houses several patrol squadrons operating P-8A Poseidon aircraft and helicopter maritime strike squadrons operating MH-60R Seahawks. Unmanned systems are represented by VUP-19, which operates the MQ-4C Triton. Fleet logistics support squadrons at the base operate C-40A and C-130T aircraft.

Infrastructure includes Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, which functions as a maintenance, repair, and operations depot. The installation hosts Naval Hospital Jacksonville and the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Jacksonville. Additional facilities include a maintenance depot with 150 trade skills, a training center for the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton, and the nearby Naval Outlying Landing Field Whitehouse for pilot training.