| Naval Base Point Loma | |
|---|---|
| San Diego,California in theUnited States | |
 USS Nimitz (CVN 68) passes Naval Base Point Loma | |
 | |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Department of Defense |
| Operator | US Navy |
| Controlled by | Navy Region Southwest |
| Condition | Operational |
| Website | Official website |
| Location | |
  NB Point Loma  NB Point Loma | |
| Coordinates | 32°40′37″N117°14′41″W / 32.67694°N 117.24472°W /32.67694; -117.24472 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1959 (1959) |
| In use | 1959 – present |
| Garrison information | |
| Current commander | Captain Jeff Yackeren |
| Official name | Fort Rosecrans[1] |
| Reference no. | 62 |
Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is aUnited States Navy base inPoint Loma, a neighborhood ofSan Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander,Navy Region Southwest. Naval Base Point Loma consists of seven facilities: Submarine Base, Naval Mine and Anti-Submarine Warfare Command (previously Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Command), Fleet Combat Training Center Pacific,Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR),Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pacific), the Fleet Intelligence Command Pacific andNaval Consolidated Brig, Miramar. These close-knit commands form a diverse and highly technical hub of naval activity. The on-base population is around 22,000 Navy and civilian personnel.
The history of Point Loma Naval Base begins in 1795. The Spanish began building a fort at the base of Point Guijarros, opposite the tip of North Island (Coronado). This fort was built on the land which is today known as Ballast Point.Fort Guijarros was later finished in 1798 and then abandoned by the Mexicans in 1845. In 1846 United StatesCapt. Samuel Du Pont, entered the abandoned land where the fort once stood and raised the American flag. Shortly after in 1848 theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended theMexican–American War and the Americans claimed Point Loma.
In February 1852 PresidentMillard Fillmore set aside the southern portion ofPoint Loma of about 1,400 acres (6 km2) formilitary purposes. Subsequently, it was assigned to the U.S. Army and named 'Fort Rosecrans', afterMajor GeneralWilliam Rosecrans, an 1842 graduate of theU.S. Military Academy. In 1898 theArmy built a coast artillery installation on the site which remained active until 1945, when the University of California Division of War Research and the Navy Radio and Sound Laboratory occupied the site as theNavy Electronics Laboratory (NEL). NEL was renamed the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC) in 1977[2] and incorporated into theSpace and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in 1997.
In 1932, the site of Fort Rosecrans was registered asCalifornia Historical Landmark #62.[1]
From February 1940 through October 1944 Fort Rosecrans was garrisoned by the19th Coast Artillery Regiment.[3]
Submarine Group, San Diego was established in 1946, and Submarine Flotilla 1 was activated in 1949. In 1959 Fort Rosecrans was turned over to theUnited States Navy. The Navy Submarine Support Facility was established in November 1963 on 280 acres (1.1 km2) of the land.[4]Bathyscaphe Trieste arrived at NEL in 1958; and modifiedBathyscaphe Trieste II was based here from 1965 to 1984.[5] On 27 November 1974 the base was re-designated a shore command, serving assigned submarines, Submarine Group Five, Submarine Squadron Three, Submarine Development Group One, the Submarine Training Facility and later, Submarine Squadron Eleven. On 1 October 1981, the base was designated asNaval Submarine Base San Diego (NAVSUBASE San Diego).
Starting in April 1995, several commands were decommissioned or their homeports were changed to meet the post-Cold War downsizing requirements of the Navy. Commands throughout San Diego were regionalized to provide equal or better base services while managing a reduced budget. The six naval installations on Point Loma were consolidated as Naval Base Point Loma on 1 October 1998.
On March 13, 2023, Naval Base Point Loma was visited by PresidentJoe Biden along with the prime ministers of Australia and the United Kingdom. The occasion was to announce an agreement among the allies to provide nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia. This is believed to be the first time a sitting president has visited Naval Base Point Loma since its establishment in 1998.[6]
The Devil Ray (ATWR-6) was transferred to the Naval Research Laboratory in early 2021 and now is home ported at NRL's Chesapeake Bay Detachment (NRL CBD) in Chesapeake Beach, MD. It is expected to be refitted to support NRL research efforts during the remainder of 2021.
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