THE NAVY IN NEWPORT
Welcome to Naval Station (NAVSTA) Newport — home to 50 Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Army Reserve commands and activities. Newport is the Navy’s premier site for training officers, officer candidates, senior enlisted personnel and midshipman candidates, as well as testing and evaluating advanced undersea warfare and development systems.
Naval Station Newport’s mission is to fulfill the diverse requirements of its tenant commands by providing the facilities and infrastructure essential to their optimum performance.
Naval personnel assigned to Newport come from all parts of the United States and many other free nations. The naval installation mirrors a miniature America, with an international flavor. Both its military and civilian personnel are deeply involved in local community affairs and play active roles in local schools, service clubs, Sea Cadets, Boy Scouts and other popular youth activities.
The Navy’s economic impact in Rhode Island is legendary. For many years, it was the state’s largest single employer in terms of personnel and payroll, and is still the largest single employer in Newport County and third overall in the state.
Approximately 10,000 employees work at the 50 various commands on Naval Station Newport with an additional 17,000 students annually passing through one of the many schools on base. Naval Station Newport has undergone significant growth as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendations. NAVSTA is home to the Navy Supply Corps School, the Center for Service Support and the U.S. Marine Corps Aviation Logistics School, all formerly in Athens, Georgia.
Newport is also the home of the Navy’s most prestigious educational institution, the Naval War College, the oldest such institution in continuous existence anywhere in the world. The college is organized to pursue and integrate both academic and research endeavors. Each year approximately 600 outstanding midcareer-level officers of the Navy, all other U.S. services, civilian federal agencies and international naval officers come here to pursue a rigorous 10-month course of postgraduate studies following in the footsteps of such notable War College graduates as Fleet Adms. Chester W. Nimitz, Ernest J. King and William “Bull” Halsey; Adm. Raymond Spruance; Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, assistant secretary of state for East Asian Affairs; Gen. Michael Hagee, former commandant, U.S. Marine Corps; Rear Adm. Alan B. Shepard, first American in space; Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, former chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Adm. James G. Stavridis, former commander, U.S. Southern Command.
More than half the graduates of the college’s senior international course, the Naval Command College, have gone on to become flag or general officers, with many being chosen to head their respective services. The college’s Center for Naval Warfare Studies leads the Navy in its maritime strategic thought. The Center’s War Gaming facility conducts some 60 major war games annually in support of the college’s research efforts, as well as fleet and Department of Defense requirements.
Officer Training Command Newport (OTCN) is the largest officer accessions point in the Navy, with a mission to prepare Sailors and Marines through enduring professional and personal development to lead as officers in the fleet.
OTCN currently delivers five separate Officer Accession/Indoctrination programs and provides oversight to three of the Navy’s technical training facilities.
Another important educational institution is the Surface Warfare Officers School Command (SWOSCOLCOM), which trains surface warfare officers from the time they are commissioned until they have command at sea.
Newport also has the Naval Justice School, which trains personnel of the Defense Department in military law and related matters.
Another large and prestigious command is the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport (NUWCDIVNPT), the Navy’s principal research, development, test and evaluation center for submarine weapons systems whose research facilities stretch from Connecticut to the Bahamas.
Naval Health Clinic New England, Newport, provides general clinical outpatient services for authorized family members and cooperates with military and civilian authorities in matters of health, sanitation, disaster and other emergencies.
Other commands and activities in Newport include the Naval Leadership and Ethics Center; the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies; Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 12 Detachment, Newport; Naval Academy Preparatory School; the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Norfolk — Newport Detachment; Navy Band Northeast; the Senior Enlisted Academy; the CNO Strategic Studies Group; Coastal Riverine Squadron 8; and more.
