What to expect wherever you’re stationed Bases

Whether you’re stationed at the world’s largest Naval Station and homeport of the Navy’s Atlantic fleet (Naval Station Norfolk) or at the 40-acre Naval Support Activity (NSA) Orlando base, life on a base or at a homeport is not that different from civilian life.

A Navy base is simply an installation where Navy personnel live and work. Most are affiliated with ports, but not all. A Navy homeport is a waterside installation in the United States or overseas where one or more Navy vessels are stationed.

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Navy bases & facilities (domestic)

Navy homeports (with ships assigned)

Typical Base Amenities

Most bases have a grocery store or commissary with great prices, gas station, theater, fitness centers, medical facilities, chapels, a library, and all kinds of sports and recreational amenities. You may even find a bowling alley, department store or teen center, along with moms, dads, kids and even some visiting grandparents.

Normally, Navy quarters come unfurnished with the exception of a stove and refrigerator. And all the utilities, except the telephone, come paid. Navy housing on base often includes three and four bedrooms, with amenities like garages, porches or terraces, and yards.

But beyond this, when you first arrive on base or at a homeport, you’ll enter a vast network of available services. If you’re a parent, there may be new parent support, child and youth programs, teen programs, and programs for kids of deployed parents or for exceptional-needs family members to help Sailors who have family members with special needs.*

*Needs include any special medical, dental, mental health, developmental or educational requirement, wheelchair accessibility, adaptive equipment or assistive technology devices and services.