Military
America's Newest Military Base is Home to 7 Guided Missile Destroyers
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West Point has played a significant role in the United States’ military history since the 1700s. Its significance expanded in 1802 when President Thomas Jefferson set up a military academy set up to prepare soldiers for upcoming battles and strengthen the U.S. military. This soon became beneficial after the onset of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803. Even though the United States first attempted neutrality, conflict later led to the War of 1812. The war itself was not particularly successful. But it did set the stage for the United States’ more militaristic philosophy and the eventual spread of additional military bases, though West Point remains the oldest continually operated U.S. military post. (Check out America’s other oldest military bases.)
Today, the military is an active part of U.S. life and culture. An estimated 750 U.S. military bases exist globally in at least 80 countries. All 50 states have at least one military base. With over 1.3 million active-duty military personnel, both deployed and at home, bases provide multiple services and resources for service members and their families. Since military installations can last centuries with regular maintenance, modernization, and expansions, there has not been an excess of new bases built. In fact, just 11 new U.S. military bases have been built nationwide since 1950. This includes the U.S. Marine Corps Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms, California, which was opened in 1952 during the Korean War. (These are the biggest U.S. military bases.)
To find America’s newest military bases constructed since 1950, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed and independently verified the history of active military installations listed on MilitaryBases.com. Bases were ordered by the year they opened, from least to most recently opened. The number of active-duty personnel assigned to each base came from the 2022 Demographics Report, compiled by Defense Department contractor Military OneSource., as well as additional base-specific information from Military OneSource. Finally, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed specific unit information from each base on the below list via the base website. Installations with less than 1,000 active duty personnel or where that data is classified, or those outside the 50 states were not considered. Newly joined bases were also not included.
Why This Matters
Military installations affect the economy on national and statewide levels. Nationally, defense spending creates job opportunities across a range of industries. Locally, military outposts often employ civilians, increase residents, and encourage spending in locally made goods. We’re covering the newest military bases to help you understand how a new military installation could affect your personal wealth.
See the newest American military base in the United States:
11. Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
- Year opened: 1952
- Location: Twentynine Palms, California
- Total active-duty personnel: 12,500
- Military branch: Marines
About the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms
This base was built at the site of a former airbase used to train glider crews and Army pilots during World War II, and was later as a bombing range for the U.S. Navy. The U.S. Marine Corps took over the site in 1952 as a training center. Today, the combined arms training facility also trains Marines in communications and electronics.
10. Little Rock Air Force Base
- Year opened: 1955
- Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas
- Total active-duty personnel: Between 5,000 and 7,200
- Military branch: Air Force
About the Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock AFB is not only home to the largest fleet of C-130s, but home to numerous wings and groups of the U.S. Air Force, including the 19th Airlift Wing that can deploy massive transport aircraft throughout the world. The base trains aircrews, including members of the Coast Guard and service members from dozens of foreign nations.
9. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
- Year opened: 1979
- Location: Camden County, Georgia
- Total active-duty personnel: 2,918
- Military branch: Navy
About the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
The NSB Kings Bay is the home port for the U.S. Navy Atlantic Fleet’s ballistic missile nuclear subs armed with Trident nuclear missiles. The base is the home port for six Ohio-class Trident submarines and the USS Florida and USS Georgia guided missile subs.
8. Grand Forks Air Force Base
- Year opened: 1957
- Location: Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Total active-duty personnel: 2,500
- Military branch: Air Force
About the Grand Forks Air Force Base
The Grand Forks AFB is home to the 319th Reconnaissance Wing, which provides operational and infrastructural support for the Global Hawk high-altitude remotely piloted surveillance aircraft. The Global Hawk is still used over Afghanistan in intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance operations following the U.S. pullout of ground forces in August 2021.
7. Minot Air Force Base
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- Year opened: 1957
- Location: Ward County, North Dakota
- Total active-duty personnel: 5,391
- Military branch: Air Force
About the Minot Air Force Base
The Minot AFB is the headquarters of the 5th Bomb Wing Mission and its fleet of B-52H Stratofortress bombers, which can be deployed anywhere in the world to deliver precision nuclear-guided bombs and other types of ordnance and munitions. Base units also maintain and operate the Minuteman III ICBMs located in underground launch facilities scattered across the northwest part of the state as well as other advanced cruise missiles.
6. Naval Air Station Meridian
- Year opened: 1961
- Location: Meridian, Mississippi
- Total active-duty personnel: 3,000
- Military branch: Navy
About the Naval Air Station Meridian
Initially opened as an airfield in 1961, the NASM grew to become an official Naval Air Station in 1967. It is one of the U.S. Navy’s air strike fighter pilot training centers and operates a military airport for this purpose. The base also has a counterdrug training center and a support center for naval operations.
5. Naval Air Station Lemoore
- Year opened: 1961
- Location: Kings County, Fresno County, California
- Total active-duty personnel: 6,123
- Military branch: Navy
About the Naval Air Station Lemoore
NAS Lemoore was initially established to support the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet and provides support to the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific that maintains combat-ready carrier- or shore-based warplanes in the Pacific Rim. Lemoore was identified as an ideal central California location because it has ideal year-round weather for aircraft deployment and less air traffic.
4. Los Angeles Air Force Base
- Year opened: 1964
- Location: El Segundo, California
- Total active-duty personnel: 1,435
- Military branch: Space Force
About the Los Angeles Air Force Base
The Los Angeles AFB was first designated as an Air Force air station on the site of a former air research development command center dating back to 1954. It was re-designated as an Air Force base in 1987. The base includes Fort MacArthur, 20 miles to the south of the main base. The base supports U.S. Space Force operations.
3. Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs
- Year opened: 1974
- Location: Saratoga Springs, New York
- Total active-duty personnel: 3,000
- Military branch: Navy
About the Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs
NSA Saratoga Springs supports naval command activities in New York’s Capital Region in upstate New York. The base provides support to the nearby Naval Propulsion Training Unit in Ballston Spa, New York, one of two facilities used to train officers in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear propulsion systems used by submarines and aircraft carriers.
2. Schriever Space Force Base
- Year opened: 1985
- Location: El Paso County, Colorado
- Total active-duty personnel: 1,853
- Military branch: Space Force
About Schriever Space Force Base
Though the U.S. Space Force was established in 2019 as the eighth and most recent U.S. military branch, the Schriever Space Force Base was always intended to be part of military space programs dating back to the 1970s when the Department of Defense sought to consolidate operations involving military satellites. The name of the base was changed in 2021 to reflect its realigned affiliation from the Air Force to the new Space Force.
1. Naval Station Everett
- Year opened: 1994
- Location: Everett, Washington
- Total active-duty personnel: 2,576
- Military branch: Navy
About Naval Station Everett
NS Everett was selected as an ideal location on the West Coast for homeporting a naval battle group. The base is currently the home port of seven guided missile destroyers, including the USS John McCain, and two Coast Guard ships used for patrolling the Northwest coast and tending to navigational buoys.
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