Special Report

The 11 Newest US Military Bases

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Almost all of the U.S. Military’s bases were in the first part of the 20th century, around the time of the two world wars. Some facilities are much older, such as the U.S. Army’s Carlisle Barracks in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, which dates back to the late 1700s.  (Here are America’s oldest military bases.)

For the most part, military installations can last centuries with regular maintenance, modernization, and expansions. This means there are very few U.S. domestic bases that have been built from scratch in recent decades. But there are a few, including the U.S. Marine Corps Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, 140 miles east of Los Angeles near Joshua Tree National Park, which was opened in 1952 during the Korean War.

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 2019 Demographics Report, compiled by Defense Department contractor Military OneSource. 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.

All of the most recent U.S. domestic military bases are commanded by either the U.S. Departments of the Navy and the Air Force. Schriever Space Force Base in El Paso County, California, was built as an Air Force installation in 1985 but renamed in 2021 to reflect its new orbital defense objectives. The U.S. Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force. (Here are America’s future weapons.)

The eleven most recently constructed U.S. domestic military bases were inaugurated between 1952 and 1994. The newest base is the naval station in Everett, Washington. Three of these youngest military bases are in California, opened from 1952 to 1964, and two are Air Force bases in North Dakota, opened in 1957. The other newest domestic military bases are located in Georgia, Mississippi, and New York.

Here are America’s newest military bases.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

11. Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
> Year opened: 1952
> Location: Twentynine Palms, California
> Total active-duty personnel: 9,490
> Military branch: Marines

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 trains Marines also in communications and electronics.

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

10. Little Rock Air Force Base
> Year opened: 1955
> Location: Jacksonville, Arkansas
> Total active-duty personnel: 3,536
> Military branch: Air Force

Home to the largest fleet of C-130s, the Little Rock AFB is 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.

usnavy / Flickr

9. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay
> Year opened: 1979
> Location: Camden County, Georgia
> Total active-duty personnel: 2,918
> Military branch: Navy

The NSB Kings Bay is the home port for 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: 1,659
> Military branch: Air Force

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.

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7. Minot Air Force Base
> Year opened: 1957
> Location: Ward County, North Dakota
> Total active-duty personnel: 5,625
> Military branch: Air Force

The Minot AFB is the headquarters of the 5th Bomb Wing Mission and its fleet of B-52H Stratofortress bombers, which can be deployed to 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: 1,126
> Military branch: Navy

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.

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Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

5. Naval Air Station Lemoore
> Year opened: 1961
> Location: Kings County, Fresno County, California
> Total active-duty personnel: 6,590
> Military branch: Navy

Initially established to support the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet, NAS Lemoore 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.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

4. Los Angeles Air Force Base
> Year opened: 1964
> Location: El Segundo, California
> Total active-duty personnel: 1,435
> Military branch: Space Force

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 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.

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

3. Naval Support Activity Saratoga Springs
> Year opened: 1974
> Location: Saratoga Springs, New York
> Total active-duty personnel: 3,000
> Military branch: Navy

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.

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2. Schriever Space Force Base
> Year opened: 1985
> Location: El Paso County, Colorado
> Total active-duty personnel: 1,853
> Military branch: Space Force

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.

usnavy / Flickr

1. Naval Station Everett
> Year opened: 1994
> Location: Everett, Washington
> Total active-duty personnel: 2,576
> Military branch: Navy

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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